LIBRAR\^OF CONGRESS, % 

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UNITED STATES 




IICA. 



PASSAGES 



FEOM THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF 



WILLIAM PEisrisr, 

COLLECTED 

BY THE EDITOR FEOM HIS 

PUBLISHED WORKS AND CORRESPONDENCE 

AND FROM THE 

BIOGRAPHIES OF CLARKSON, LEWIS, AND JANNEY, 

AND OTHER RELIABLE SOURCES. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

FOR SALE AT FRIENDS' BOOK-STORE, 

304 Arch Street. 

1882. 



1 

en' 



-7- 



CONTENTS. 



i. Early Life and Education. Expulsion from Oxford 
AND from his Father's House. Life on the Continent. 
Life in Ireland with the Duke of Ormond, and in Care 
OF his Father's Estates. Preaching of Thomas Loe. 
First Imprisonment. Second Exile from Home. . . 7 

II. "The Guide Mistaken." Public Eeligious Discus- 
sion WITH T. Vincent. "The Sandy Foundation Shaken." 
Imprisonment in the Tower. " Innocency with her Open 
Face." 22 



III. "No Cross, No Crown." 



44 



1 Y. Arrest for Preaching. Trial at the Old Bailey. 
Commitment, with the Jury, to Newgate. Death of Ad- 
miral Penn .80 

V. Arrest and Trial for Preaching by the Lieutenant 
OF THE Tower and Imprisonment in Newgate. . . 99 

VI. "The great Case of Liberty of Conscience de- 
bated." Eeply to "Quakerism Anatomized." . 105 

iii 



IV CONTENTS. 

VII. Marriage. Public Religious Controversy with T. 
Hicks and J. Ives. Controversy with J. Perot and Fol- 
lowers. Visit to Court on Account of Imprisonment of 
George Fox. "England's Present Interest considered." 
Letter to the Princess Palatine op the Ehine. . . Ill 

VIII. Journal of Travels in Holland and Ger- 
many. 141 

IX. "Address to Protestants." "One Project for the 
Good of England." 200 

X. Arbitration between Fenavick and Byllinge. Trus- 
teeship for and Settlement of West New Jersey. . 214 

XI. "Examination of Liberty Spiritual." . . . 221 

XII. Grant of Pennsylvania from Charles II. Condi- 
tions OR Concessions to Settlers. . First Settlements. 
Letter to the Indians. Constitution of Pennsylvania. 233 

XIII. Letter to his Wife and Children. Arrr^alin 
Pennsylvania, 1682. First Assembly and Code of Laws. 
Founding of Philadelphia. Treaty with the Indians at 
Shackabiaxon. .... r ... . 255 

XIV. Descriptive Letter to the Free Society of Tra- 
ders OF Pennsylvania. Letter from Stephen Crisp. Fare- 
well Letters to Friends of Pennsylvania. . . . 282 



CONTENTS. V 

X V . Arrival in England, 16S4. Visit to the King and . 
Duke of York. Letter informing of Death of Charles 
11. Correspondence with Dr. Tillotson, afterwards 
Archbishop of Canterbury. 299 

XVI. ''A Persuasive to Moderation." Visit to the 
Prince of Orange. Letter of Commission to Thomas 
Lloyd and others in Pennsylvania 315 

XVII. Declaration of Indulgence by King James. Im- 
prisonment OF THE Six Bishops. Popular Distrust op 
William Penn and Correspondence with Secretary op 
Board of Trade and Plantations. William, Prince op 
Orange, made King. Arrest of William Penn. . ' . 329 

X \ III. Appointment of Governor Blackwell and 
Letters to the Provincial Council. .... 354 

XIX. Second Arrest on Suspicion of Favoring King 
James. Letters to his Friends in England and America 
ON THE Subject 359 

XX. "A Key Opening the Way to Distinguish the 
Eeligion professed by the People called Quakers." " An 
Essay towards the Peace of Europe." . . . .368 

XXI. "The Eise and Progress of the People called 
Quakers." . . . 389 

XXii. Account of his Son Springett. "Primitive 
Christianity Eevived." Letter to the Czar of Mus- 
covy 419 

1* 



VI CONTENTS. 

XXIII. "Advice to his Children." .... 439 

XXIV. Disagreements in Pennsylvania and Separation 
OF THE Province and Territories. Government taken 
BY the Crown and restored. Sails for Pennsylvania, 
1699 451 

XXV. Arrival at Philadelphia. Differences in the 
Provincial Council. Proposition in Parliament to As- 
sume THE Government. Sails for England, 1701. . 4G3 

XXVI. Correspondence with James Logan about 
Colonial Affairs and William Penn Jr. . , . 478 

XXVII. Impositions of his Steward, Philip Ford. Let- 
ter OF Eemonstrance to the Provincial Assembly. Sale 
OF the Province to the Crown. Failure of Health and 
Death 493 



PASSAGES 



FROM THE 



Life and Writings of William Penn, 



I. 

WILLIAM PENN was honorably descended ; his 
paternal ancestors, for several generations, having 
been persons of high respectability and considerable note 
in the world. His grandfather, Giles Penn, was a captain 
in the English navy. His father, Sir William Penn, at 
an early age, became a distinguished naval officer, and 
passed rapidly through the successive grades of promotion, 
so that at the age of thirty-one he was created Yice 
Admiral. He was a man of good understanding and a 
thoughtful turn of mind ; amiable in natural disposition, 
but accustomed to the exercise of absolute authority ; and 
honorable, but ambitious of distinction and wealth. 

"William Penn was born in London on the 14th of the 
Eighth month, (now the Tenth,) A. d. 1644. Of his very 
early years but little is known. Being the heir to a con- 
siderable estate, and a youth of promising abilities, his 
father appears to have spared no expense to confer upon 

7 



8 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

him the best education which the country could afford. He 
received the rudiments of learning at Chigwell school, 
which was near Wanstead, in Essex, then the country resi- 
dence of his father. Although he left this place at the age 
of twelve years, yet he appears while there to have received 
serious religious impressions. The Lord, who designed 
to make him an instrument of good to many souls, visited 
him by his Holy Spirit, comforting him with a sense of 
his presence, giving him an assurance of the reality of 
communion with Him, and calling him to a holy life. 

On leaving Wanstead, Admiral Penn went with his 
family to live on a large estate near Cork, in Ireland, 
which had been given him by Cromwell for services 
rendered. Here his son pursued his studies under the 
care of a tutor. 

In an account w^hich William Penn is said to have given 
of some of the circumstances of his early life, it is stated, 
" That while he was but a child, living near Cork with his 
father, Thomas Loe came thither. When it was rumored 
a Quaker was come from England, his father proposed to 
some others to be like the noble Bereans, and hear him 
before they judged him. He accordingly sent to Thomas 
Loe to come to his house, where he had a meeting in the 
family. Though William was very young, he observed 
what effect Thomas Loe's preaching had on the hearers. 
A black servant of his father's could not restrain himself 
from weeping aloud ; and little William, looking on his 
father, saw the tears running down his cheeks also. Ho 
then thought within himself, ' What if they would all be 
Quakers!' This opportunity he never quite forgot; the 
remembrance of it still recurring at times." 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 9 

When a little over fifteen years of age, William Penn 
entered as '' a gentleman commoner " at Oxford, where he 
remained three years, distinguishing himself as a hard 
and successful student. We learn from himself that he 
was preserved uncorrupted in the midst of the dissipations 
and wickedness which abounded in the University. He 
took great delight in manly sports, and in the society of 
those young men who were distinguished for talents or 
worth. Among those with whom he was intimate were 
Robert Spencer, afterwards the well-known Earl of Sun- 
derland, and the venerable John Locke. 

After the Restoration, the court set to work to remodel 
the University, by displacing those who held Puritanical 
opinions, or who had found favor during the Common- 
wealth, and installing others friendly to the re-established 
church and the lax moral principles then prevailing. Dr. 
Owen, conspicuous as a scholar and a strict religionist, 
was ejected to make room for a royalist partisan ; and the 
students became divided into parties, applauding or de- 
nouncing the changes made. 

There is reason to believe, from observations made by 
William Penn himself, that throughout his youth he was. 
repeatedly visited by the Dayspring from on high, bring- 
ing him into serious thoughtfulness. While at college his 
associates appear to have been those of a religious cast of 
character like kimself, who had probably been influenced 
by the teaching and advice of Dr. Owen. It so happened 
that while much controversy was going on among the 
scholars relative to religious opinions and practices, 
Thomas Loe, who had belonged to the University, and 
had now joined the Society of Friends, came to Oxford, 



10 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

and held several meetings. To these meetings William 
Penn and his associates went, and a deep impression was 
made upon their minds by the powerful preaching of this 
devoted servant of Christ. They declined being present 
at what were now the regular "services" of the college, 
and held private meetings for worship and religious ex- 
hortation and prayer ; and for this they were fined. When 
an order came down from Charles the Second that the 
surplice should be worn, according.to the custom of ancient 
times, which was an unusual sight then at that University, 
they refused to wear them, and tore them off those they 
met. How far William Penn was implicated in this is 
not known; but his course gave great offence, and he was 
expelled the University with his associates. 

When he returned home his father received him coldly. 
Indeed, he could not be otherwise than displeased with his 
son, on account of the public disgrace which he had thus 
incurred ; but that which vexed him most was the change 
now observable in his habits, for he began to abandon 
what was called the fashionable world, and to mix only 
with serious and religious people. The Admiral was 
fearful that all the prospects in life which he had formed 
for his son, and which he could have promoted by his 
great connections, would be done away. Anxious, there- 
fore, to recover him, he had recourse to persuasion and 
argument. This failing, like one accustomed to arbitrary 
power, he proceeded to blows ; and the latter failing also, 
he turned him out of doors. 

The Admiral, after a procedure so violent, began at 
length to relent. His wife, an amiable woman, lost no" 
opportunity of intercession. Overcome, therefore, by "his 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 11 

own affectionate nature on the one hand, and by her 
entreaties on the other, he forgave his son. But he was 
desirous of meeting the evil for the future, and he saw no 
other means of doing it than by sending his son to France. 
He indulged a hope that the change of scene might wean 
him from his old connections, and that the gayety of 
French manners might correct the growing gravity of 
his mind. Accordingly, in 1662, he sent him to that 
country in company with certain persons of rank who 
were then going upon their travels. The place where he 
first resided was Paris. 

Though William Penn was kept pure in the midst of 
the seductions of this gay and licentious metropolis, it 
furnished little society calculated to strengthen his pious 
resolutions. He afterwards resided some time at Saumur, 
where he went for the purpose of receiving instruction 
from the celebrated Moses Amyrault, a learned Calvinistic 
minister and professor of divinity, who was then held in 
high estimation. Under this instructor he renewed his 
studies, read the ancient fathers as well as the modern 
works of theology, and acquired an accurate knowledge 
of the French language. After leaving Saumur, he pro- 
ceeded towards Italy, but when he arrived at Turin a let- 
ter from his father reached him, desiring his return home. 
The Admiral having received orders to take command of 
the fleet under the Duke of York against the Dutch, wished 
to leave his family in the care of his son. William ac- 
cordingly returned in 1664, having been absent about 
two years. ,0n his return his father perceived not only 
that he had become a good French scholar, but that he 
brought with him the air and bearing of the courtly life 



12 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

to which he had been introduced in Paris. His new asso- 
ciations had in some degree worn off the seriousness of his 
demeanor, so that his father supposed that he had gained 
his point. At his suggestion he entered as a student of 
law at Lincoln's Inn. While there his father sailed with 
the fleet, and he accompanied him for a few days. His 
letter on landing at Harwich shows the affectionate re- 
spect he had for his father. 

"Honored Father: — We could not arrive here sooner 
than this day, about twelve of the clock, by reason of the 
continued cross winds, and, as I thought, foul weather. I 
pray God, after all the foul weather and dangers you are 
exposed to, and shall be, that you come home as secure. 
And I bless God my heart does not in any way fail, 
but firmly believe that if God has called you out to battle, 
He will cover your head in that smoky da}^ And, as I 
never knew what a father was till I had wisdom enough 
to prize him, so I can safely say that now, of all times, 
your concerns are most dear to me." 

The Admiral made his son bearer of a despatch to King 
Charles. This was no doubt his first official visit to White- 
hall, but that he must have been well known to the king 
appears by his letter to his father reporting the delivery 
of the despatch. His letter closes with- these words : 

" I pray God be with you, and be your armor in the 
day of controversy! May that power be your salvation, 
for his name's sake. And so will he wish and i»ray, that 
is with all true veneration, honored father, 

" Your obedient son and servant, 

William Penn." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 13 

He continued at Lincoln's Inn about a year, until the 
great plague which prevailed in London in 1665 induced 
him to leave the city. The awful scenes of death deeply 
impressed him. The Holy Spirit again broke up his false 
rest and showed him the emptiness of worldly grandeur 
and honor, and wooed him to leave all and follow Christ. 

William Penn's worldly prospects were highly flatter- 
ing to the natural ambition of a young- and ardent mind. 
He possessed a manly form blooming with health, a lively 
and active disposition, a ready wit and talents improved 
by great literary and scientific attainments, and many 
rich and powerful* friends. These, added to his father's 
interest at court, and his intimacy with the Duke of York, 
presumptive heir to the crown, as well as the solicitations 
of numerous friends, strongly inclined him to embrace the 
glory and pleasures of this world, which might be said to 
court his acceptance. But the glory and joy of the heav- 
enly inheritance had taken possession of his mind ; and it 
is evident from his own account that he was under deep 
religious feeling, and panting after the more full disclosure 
of divine Truth. 

He had come from the continent with an air of gayety 
and a show of polite manners which the Admiral had 
mistaken for a great change in his mind. But now, in 
1666, all volatile appearances had died away. He had 
become again a serious person. He mixed again only 
with grave and religious people. His father could not 
but notice this change. Not easily to be vanquished, he 
determined a second time to endeavor to break up his 
son's connections, and, to effect this, he sent him to Ire- 
laud. 

2 



14 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

One reason which induced him to make choice of Ire- 
land for this purpose, was his acquaintance with the Duke 
of Ormond, who was then lord-lieutenant of that country, 
as well as with several others who attended his court. 
The duke himself was a man of a graceful appearance, 
lively wit, and cheerful temper; and his court had the 
reputation of great gayety and splendor. The Admiral 
conceived, therefore, if his son were properly introduced 
among his friends there, that he might even yet receive a 
new bias and acquire a new taste. While there he joined 
the duke's son, the Earl of Arran, in an expedition on which 
he was sent to put down a mutiny of the garrison at 
Carrickfergus, and was reported to have ''acquitted him- 
self in that action to his no small reputation." He was 
offered, and seemed inclined to accept, the command of the 
fort at Kinsale in his father's place"; but it appears from 
the following letter from his father that he did not fa- 
vor it : 

" Son William : — I have received two or three letters 
from you since I wrote any to you. Besides my former 
advice I can say nothing but advise to sobriety and all 
those things that will speak you a Christian and a gentle- 
man, which prudence may make to have the best consist- 
ency. As to the tender made by his grace, the lord- 
lieutenant, concerning the fort at Kinsale, I wish your 
youthful desires mayn't outrun your discretion. His 
grace may, for a time, dispense with my absence ; yours 
he will not, for so he told me. God bless, direct, and pro- 
tect you. Your very affectionate father, 

W. Penn." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 15 

But his religious impressions prevailed over the influ- 
ences of court life, and he turned away with disgust from 
the routine of its parade and ceremonies, and the unsatis- 
fying round of its pleasures and gayeties. 

Thus disappointed again in his expectations, Tbut not 
yet overcome, the Admiral had recourse to another expe- 
dient. He had large estates in Ireland, one of which, 
comprehending Shannigary Castle, lay in the barony of 
Imokelly, and the others in the baronies of Ibaune and 
Barryroe, all of them in the county of Cork. He deter- 
mined, therefore, to give his son the sole management of 
these, knowing at least, while he resided upon them, that 
he would be far from his English connections, and at any 
rate that he would have ample employment for his time. 
William received his new commission, and was happy in 
the execution of it. He performed it, after a trial of many 
•months, to the entire satisfaction, and even joy, of his 
father ; and he was going on in the diligent performance 
of it, when this, his very occupation, brought him eventu- 
ally into the situation which his father of all others dep- 
recated. Being accidentally on business at Cork, he 
went into a shop kept by a woman, a Friend, whom he 
had known when a boy. He made himself known, and 
reminded her of the meeting held by Thomas Loe at his 
father's house. On her expressing surprise at his mem- 
ory of the circumstances, he said he could never forget 
them, and that he would go a hundred miles to hear that 
Friend speak. She told him he need not go so far, for he 
was now in Cork, and was to have a meeting the next 
day. It was impossible that he could return to his farm 
without seeing the man whom he considered as his great- 



16 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

est human benefactor, and still more without hearing his 
discourse. Accordingly he attended. The preacher began 
with the text : " There is a faith which overcomes the 
world, and there is a faith which is overcome by the 
world." On this subject he enlarged, and this in so im- 
pressive a manner that William was deeply affected. He 
felt keenly that he had been allowing the world to over- 
come the drawings of his Heavenly Father's love, and 
wept much. 

Reviewing his life some years afterwards, in an inter- 
view with some pious persons, he says : '' I let them know 
how and when the Lord first appeared unto me, which 
was about the twelfth year of my age, and how at times, 
between that and my fifteenth. He continued to visit me, 
and the divine impressions He gave me of himself; of my 
persecution at Oxford, and how the Lord sustained me in 
the midst of the hellish darkness and debauchery of that 
place ; of my being banished the college ; the bitter usage 
I underwent when I returned to my father, whipping, 
beating, and turning out of doors ; of the Lord's dealings 
with me in France, and in the time of the. great plague 
in London ; in fine, the deep sense He gave me of the 
vanity of this world and of the irreligiousness of the 
religions of it ; then of my mournful and bitter cries to 
Him, that He would show me his own way of life and 
salvation, and my resolution to follow Him whatever 
reproaches or suffering it might cost me, and that with 
great reverence and brokenness of spirit. How, after all 
this, the glory of the world overtook me, and I was even 
ready to give myself up unto it, seeing as yet no such 
things as the primitive spirit and church on earth; and 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 17 

being ready to faint concerning my hope of the restitution 
of all things, 

*' It was at this time that the Lord visited me with a 
certain sound and testimony of his eternal Word, through 
one of those the world calls Quakers, namely, Thomas 
Loe. I related the bitter mockings and scornings that fell 
upon me, the displeasure of my parents, the cruelty and 
invective of the priests, the strangeness of all my com- 
panions, and what a sign and wonder they made of me ; 
but, above all, that great cross of resisting and watching 
against my own vain affections and thoughts." 

William Penn was so impressed by Thomas Loe's ser- 
mon, and by an interview which he had afterwards with 
him, that from that day he favored Friends as a religious 
body, and began to attend their meetings. At one of 
these, in the autumn of 166*7, he was apprehended on the 
plea of a proclamation issued in 1660 against tumultuous 
assemblies, and carried before the mayor. The latter, 
looking at him and observing that he was not clothed 
as others of the Society were, oifered him his liberty if he 
would give bond for his good behavior. But not choosing 
to do this, he was committed with eighteen others* to 
prison. 

He had not been there long when he wrote to Lord 
Orrery, then president of the council of Munster, to re- 
quest his release. We find in this letter nothing either 
servile or degrading. It was written, on the other hand, 
in a manly and yet decorous manner. '^ Beligion,^^ says 
he, "which is at once my crime and mine innocence, makes 
me a prisoner to a mayor's malice, but mine own free 
man." "And though to dissent from a national system 
2* • B 



18 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

imposed by authority renders men heretics, yet I dare be- 
lieve your lordship is better read in reason and theology 
than to subscribe a maxim so vulgar and untrue." *' But 
I presume, my lord, the acquaintance you have had with 
other countries must needs have furnished you with this 
infallible observation, that diversities of faith and wor- 
ship contribute not to the disturbance of any place, where 
moral uniformity is barely requisite to preserve the peace." 
This, his first appeal for religious toleration, of which the 
foregoing are a few sentences, was followed by an imme- 
diate order from the earl for his release. 

The rumor that he had become a Quaker soon reached 
his father. It was conveyed to him by a nobleman then 
resident in Ireland, who addressed him purposely on the 
subject. The Admiral on the receipt of this letter sent 
for his son. William immediately obeyed, and returned 
home. At the first interview all appeared to be well. 
There was nothing discoverable in his dress or manners 
by which the information sent concerning him could be 
judged to be true. But observing on the next day that 
his son did not uncover his head when he came into his 
presence (in those days men generally wore their hats in 
the house), and that he used thee and thou when address- 
ing him, the Admiral demanded an explanation. 

" And here," says Joseph Besse, (the first collector of 
the works of William Penn with a Journal of his Life 
prefixed,) ''my pen is diffident of her abilities to describe 
that most pathetic and moving contest which was between 
his father and him : his father actuated by natural love, 
principally aiming at his son's temporal honor ; he, guided 
by a divine impulse, having chiefly in view his own eter- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 19 

nal welfare : his father, grieved to see the well acconi' 
plished son of his hopes, now ripe for worldly promotion, 
voluntarily turning his back upon it ; he, no less afflicted 
to think a compliance with his earthly father's pleasures was 
inconsistent with his obedience to his heavenly one : his 
father pressing his conformity to the customs and fashions 
of the times ; he, modestly craving leave to refrain from 
what would hurt his conscience: his father earnestly en- 
treating him, and almost on his knees beseeching him, to 
•yield to his desire ; he, of a loving and tender disposition, 
in an extreme agony of spirit to behold his father's con- 
cern and trouble : his father threatening to disinherit him ; 
he, humbly submitting to his father's will therein : his 
father turning his back on him in anger ; he, lifting up 
his heart to Grod for strength to support him in that time 
of trial." 

The Admiral, after this, gave up all thoughts of alter- 
ing the general views of his son. He hoped only to be 
able to prevail upon him to give up certain peculiarities 
which appeared to have little to do with conscience, and 
to be used merely as the distinguishing marks of a sect. 
He therefore told his son that he would trouble him no 
more on the subject of his conversion, if he would only 
consent to take his hat off in his own presence, and in 
that of the king and the Duke of York. William, on re- 
ceiving the proposition, desired time to consider of it. 
This agitated his father. He had no conception that the 
subject of his solicitation required thought. He became 
immediately suspicious, and told his son that he had only 
asked for time that he might consult his friends the Quak- 
ers. William assured his father that he would do no such 



20 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

thing ; and having pledged his word to this effect, he left 
him, and retired to his own chamber to pour out his soul 
in prayer for direction, and strength to follow it. 

It will be asked by some, what necessity there could 
be, in a matter apparently so trivial, to retire either for 
serious meditation or for Divine help ? In his view it was 
a question of principle, involving, as he believed, his obedi- 
ence to God, and nothing of this character was too small 
to be carefully regarded by a mind divinely aAvakened, as 
was his. Uncovering the head is the mode by which 
Friends, in conformity with the practice of the primitive 
Christians, indicated their reverence to the Supreme Being, 
when they approached Him in the solemn act of praj^er ; 
and as they believed that the pride of man induced him 
to claim it as a token of respect to himself, they therefore 
felt themselves conscientiously restrained from giving it. 

The custom, moreover, leads to repeated acts of insin- 
cerity as an expression of respect which often is not felt 
or deserved. It is often a sign of flattery which hurts 
both giver and receiver, and leads to making distinctions 
on account of social position between those who are 
equally worthy in the Divine sight. 

William Penn loved his father and respected him. 
He was sensible of the duty he owed him as a parent, 
but he was equally sensible of a superior duty to God. 
He was made to feel that his peace of mind and religious 
growth were dependent upon his faithfulness, and found 
himself compelled to inform his father that he could not 
accede to his request. This he did with expressions of 
the greatest tenderness and affection, as well as of filial 
submission. The Admiral heard his answer, but could 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 21 

not bear it. Unable to gain tlie least concession from 
his son, and in a point where he judged it impossible that 
persons bred up as gentlemen could disagree, he gave wa}^ 
to his anger, and in the violence of the blast which fol- 
lowed it, he once more turned him out of doors. 

He was now thrown upon the wide world. Having no 
independent fortune of his own, and having been brought 
up to no trade or profession, he had not the means of 
getting his livelihood like other people. This sudden 
change from affluence to poverty could not but at first 
have affected him ; but the thought of having broken the 
peace of mind, however innocently, of his father, and of 
being apparently at variance with him, was that which 
occasioned him the most pain. He is said to have borne 
his situation with great resignation, deriving support from 
the belief that they who left houses and parents for the 
kingdom of God's sake, should eventually reap their re- 
ward. He began, however, to find that even in his tem- 
poral state he was not deserted. His mother kept up a 
communication with him privately, furnishing him as well 
as she could from her own purse ; and several kind friends 
administered also to his wants. 



22 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 



II. 

ABOUT the year 1668, being then in the twenty-fourth 
year of his age, William Penn, having passed through 
many deep exercises and probations, both inwardly and 
outw^ardly ; having parted with all that the world holds 
dear for Christ's sake, and been made a partaker of the 
powers of the world to come, a gift in the ministry of the 
gospel of life and salvation was dispensed to him by the 
head of the Church. Animated with an ardent concern 
for the everlasting welfare of his fellow-creatures, his 
heart warmed with divine love, and reaching forth in 
good will towards all without distinction of name or party, 
he became a zealous, indefatigable, and effectual laborer in 
the vineyard of his divine Master. 

The following letter, written about this time to a young 
person of his acquaintance, will serve to show his solici- 
tude for others, and his Christian plainness : 

"Navy Office, 10th of the Fifth month, 1668. 
" Friend : — It was a true word spoken by Jesus Christ 
to undeceive the careless, wanton Jews, among whom He 
manifested his glorious Truth, through that body prepared 
of God for that very end, that the way which leads to 
everlasting life and rest is straight and narrow. My 
friend, how much it concerns the welfare of thy immortal 
Boul to reflect upon the course of life and way thou now 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 23 

art walking in, before an evident stroke from heaven call 
thee hence, and send thy so much indulged flesh and 
blood into the grave, 

" Well, my friend, this know, and by these shalt thou 
be judged, and in it I am clear, that as without holiness 
none can see God, so without subjection to that Spirit, 
Light, or Grace in the heart, which God in love hath 
made to appear to all, that teacheth to deny all ungodli- 
ness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, 
and godly in this present world; I say, without subjection 
hereunto, there is no" attaining to that holiness which 
will give thee an entrance into his presence, in which is 
joy and pleasure forever. Examine thyself, how remote 
thou art from the guidings and instructions of this Spirit 
cf grace, who canst countenance this age in frequenting 
their wicked and vain sports, plays, and entertainments, 
conforming thyself to ridiculous customs, and making one 
at idle talking, and vain jesting, wheresoever thou comest, 
not considering thou shalt account to God for every idle 
word. And let all thy frolicking associates know the day 
is hastening in which they shall not abide the presence of 
Him that sits upon the throne. It shall be a time of hor- 
ror, amazement, and distress. Then shall they know there 
is a righteous, holy Judge of all. 

'' Retire from the noise and clatter of tempting visibles, 
to the beholding Him who is invisible, that He may reign 
in thy soul, God over all, exalted and blessed forever. Tare- 
welL I am thy well-wishing, real friend, 

AViLLiAM Penn." 

Almost as soon as he had identified himself with tho 



24 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 

Society of Friends, he felt himself called to be a defender 
of their religious belief against public attacks. In this 
year Jonathan Clapham published a work called "A Guide 
to True Eeligion," in which he set forth certain articles 
as the true Christian creed^ declaring all who did not 
assent to them incapable of salvation, and inveighing 
with severity against the doctrines of the Friends. Wil- 
liam Penn in reply wrote '' The Guide Mistaken," from 
which a few passages are taken. 

" Thou must not, reader, from my querying thus, con- 
clude we do deny (as he hath falsely charged us) those 
glorious three which bear record in heaven, the Father, 
AVord, and Spirit, neither the Infinity, Eternity, and Di- 
vinity of Jesus Christ, for we know that He is the mighty 
God ; nor what the Father sent his Son to do on the be- 
half of lost man ; declaring to the whole world, we know 
no other name, by which atonement, salvation, and plen- 
teous redemption comes ; but by his name are, according 
to our measures, made sensible of its mighty power. 

" His next accusation is, That they extol the light in all 
men, as the only sufficient rule to walk by, to the appar- 
ent slighting of Scriptures and preaching. 

" Reader, if yet thou art a stranger to this Light, let me 
beseech thee once to observe it in thyself, and tell me 
then if it has not that divine quality to discern between 
the precious and the vile, and manifest every thought, 
word, and act; whether it is well-pleasing, or the con- 
trary, to the great God ? If it be criminal to own those 
Scriptures he falsely says we slight, the case is changed, 
otherwise, we all confess that God is light, and that He 
hath enlightened every man ; by heeding and obeying the 



OF WILLIAM PENJS". 25 

dictates of which we may be preserved in that capacity, as 
the same Scripture says, which shall bring us into the 
pure fellowship, and that the blood of Jesus shall cleanse 
us from all sin. Nor do they own a principle in the 
clouds, but above all people, have demonstrated the 
power and authority of their principle by that redemp- 
tion it has wrought for them, and the alteration it has 
made from that condition which nakedly exposed their 
immortal souls to the snares and entanglements of this 
world's perishing glories, to experience the blood which 
cleanseth from all iniquity, the unspeakable peace of per- 
fect reconciliation with God. 

"And for his confident affirming we slight both Scrip- 
tures and preaching, I have this to say. That as there is not 
any who discover more respect for them, by a conformity 
of life to what they require, so do they both read, and as 
often quote them in preaching or declaration as any who 
profess them for their rule. 

" His fifth reflection is. Our openly denying the doctrine 
of the Trinity. But methinks it would become him who 
is reproving others for not paying that respect they ought 
unto the Scriptures, to be a little more exemplary in using 
their unquestionable phrase and sound expression, for I 
am altogether ignorant of any Scripture that mentions 
that word Trinity ; yet if by Trinity he understands those 
three witnesses in. heaven. Father, Word, and Spirit, he 
should have better acquainted himself with what we dis- 
own, than thus ignorantly to blaze abroad our open denial 
of what we most absolutely credit and believe. 

" His next slander runs thus : The person of Jesus 
Christ, as to his human nature, with all his offices assigned 
3 



26 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

to Him by his Father, they utterly reject, though this la 
an arcanum that is kept hid from their novices. 

" Fain would he here insinuate hard thoughts concerning 
an inoffensive people ; whilst in reality they own no other 
name by which salvation is obtainable than the Christ of 
God; and all the offices that ever were assigned Him by 
his Father are by them acknowledged; and so remote are 
they from hiding their sentiments, that whosoever will 
but give himself the time of frequenting their meetings, 
or perusing their books, will soon perceive how very far 
this character is wide of truth. 

" His next report is, we call not upon God in the name 
and mediation of Jesus Christ. But, reader, assure thy- 
self, the Quakers never knew any other name than that 
of Jesus Christ, through which to find acceptance with the 
Lord ; nor is it by any other than Jesus, the Mediator of 
the new covenant, by whom they expect redemption, and 
may receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. 

" He further says : They trust not in his death for par- 
don and salvation, but in a pretended sinless perfection. 

'' They are so far from disowning the death and sufferings 
of Christ that there is not a people on the earth that so 
assuredly witness and demonstrate a fellowship therewith, 
confessing before men and angels that Christ died for the 
sins of the world, and gave his life a ransom. Perfection 
from sin they hold attainable, because he that is born of 
God sins not, and that nothing which is unclean can enter 
the kingdom of God ; no crown without victory ; the little 
leaven leavens the whole lump; the strong man must be 
cast out. Paul prays they might be sanctified wholly; be 
ye perfect as God is perfect ; be perfect, be of good com- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 27 

fort ; unto a perfect man ; as many as be perfect ; that the 
man of God may be perfect ; the God of peace make you 
perfect in every good work; the God of all grace make 
you perfect ; let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of 
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God ; 
leaving those things behind, let us go on unto perfection, 
and this will we do if God permit. If perfection were 
unattainable, it would be strange that the Scriptures 
should speak of such a state, and very preposterous that 
Paul, Peter, etc., should so solicit and pray for the ancient 
saints, that they might come thither, even to the spirits 
of just men made perfect ; nay, he positively avouches to 
have arrived there, at the heavenly Jerusalem, at the 
church of the first-born, etc. 

" The doctrine of the resurrection of the just and unjust, 
last judgment, heaven and hell, as future rewards; they 
believe and confess : — And, as my faithful testimony both 
to their life and doctrine, I declare, and be it known to all 
that ever knew me, that when the unspeakable riches of 
God's love visited me, by the call of his glorious light, 
from the dark practices, wandering notions, and vain con- 
versations of this polluted world, and that my heart was 
influenced thereby, and consequently disposed for the more 
intimate and sincere reception of it; those very habits, 
which once I judged impossible, whilst here, to have re- 
linquished, and did allow myself a liberty therein, because 
not openly gross or scandalous, became not only burden- 
some, and by that light were manifested to be of another 
nature than that which I was called to the participation 
of; but in my faithful adherence to its holy counsel and 
instructions, I was immediately endued with a power that 



28 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

gave dominion over them. And being in measure redeemed 
from that to which the curse is pronounced, I sensibly 
enjoyed the blessings that attended a reconciliation. 

" And never since I have been conversant with their 
principles have I found one article that did not receive a 
full and satisfactory assent from that very grace, spirit, or 
light of God which first called me from the gross impieties, 
vain entertainments, tempting glories, and will-worships 
of this generation. As I have the seal of God's eternal 
spirit of love upon my soul as an infallible assurance, so, 
since my first frequenting of them and their assemblies, I 
have observed that holy, innocent, and righteous conver- 
sation which harmonizes with the severity, circumspection, 
and self-denying life of the Gospel; and testify (as revealed 
from God) that since those centuries in which the apostasy 
eclipsed the beauty of the primitive light there has not 
been so glorious a discovery of spiritual, pure, and evan- 
gelical worship, life, and doctrine as God hath, in his 
loving-kindness, raised the so much despised Quakers to 
own, practise, and declare amongst the nations ; as the 
good old way of holiness that leads from intemperance, 
vanity, pride, oppression, and the love of this world's 
perishing glories, to that everlasting joy and rest which 
is reserved for the people of the most high God. 

" In short, they are sound in principle, zealous for God, 
devout in worship, earnest in prayer, constant in profession, 
harmless and exemplary in their lives, patient in sufferings, 
orderly in their affairs, few in words, punctual in dealings, 
merciful to enemies, self-denying as to this world's delights 
and enjoyments ; and to sum up all, standards for the God 
of heaven, against the pride, cruelty, lust, avarice, etc., of 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 29 

this godless generation, whom the unborn shall call 
blessed when their testimonies are finished, and they 
gathered into the unspeakable solace and possession of 
God's eternal presence." 

About this time he attended the death-bed of Thomas 
Loe. This eminent minister, we may remember, had been 
the messenger of good to William Penn while at Oxford; 
and it was by his powerful ministry that he was afterwards 
convinced. 

The following account of the last hours of his beloved 
and venerated friend is found in a letter of William Penn 
to Isaac Penington. 

*' I found him in readiness to depart. Friends, much 
affected, stood around his bed. When I came in and had 
set myse-lf upon the bedside, so shook was he by the power 
of the Lord, and overcome by the ravishing glory of his 
presence, that it was wonderful to airthe Friends. Taking 
me by the hand, he spoke thus : ' Dear heart, bear thy 
cross, stand faithful for God and bear thy testimony in thy 
day and generation ; and God will give thee an eternal 
crown of glory that none shall ever take from thee. There 
is not another way. Bear thy cross. Stand faithful for 
God. This is the way the holy men of old walked in ; 
and it shall prosper. God has brought immortality to 
light, and immortal life is felt in its blessedness. My 
heart is full. My cup runs over. Glory, glory to his 
name forever I Friends, keep your testimonies. Live to 
God and He will be with you. Be not troubled. The 
love of God overcomes my heart.' 

"It effected more than all the outward potions given 
him ; for it so enlivened his spirits and raised him that he 
3* 



80 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

soon after got up and walked about, saying- to us, ' Many 
times when I have seemed to be going the Lord has shined 
upon my tabernacle and raised it up.' 

"But it was, then, the will of the Lord that, after all 
his labor, perils, and travels, he should there lay down his 
body amongst his ancient friends. He lay some time 
speechless, his spirit being centred ; and at last he w^ent 
away with great stillness, having finished his testimony, 
and left many demonstrations of his service and much 
fruit of his diligent labor. My soul loved him while living, 
and now bemoans his loss when dead. The da}^ following, 
we laid the mortal part in the ground, it having done its 
Master's work." 

About the same time William Penn was involved in a 
controversy which occasioned him no small share of trouble. 
The seventeenth century is known to have been a period 
remarkable for the dissensions which existed in England 
among the different professions of religion. An extraor- 
dinary interest in relation to the concerns of salvation 
seemed to be awakened, and many were earnestly seeking 
after the knowledge of the Truth as it is in Jesus. Public 
disputes on-doctrinal subjects were very common, and were 
too often managed with an acrimony and rudeness incon- 
sistent with that divine charity which is peaceable., gentle, 
and easy to be entreated. The Society of Friends, then 
in its infancy, had greatly increased in numbers, and 
attracted considerable attention. Its doctrines were but; 
little understood and much misrepresented, and its mem- 
bers were therefore frequently engaged in defending them- 
selves from the aspersions of their enemies, often in public 
disputes. 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 31 

Two of the hearers of Thomas Yincent, the pastor of a 
Presbyterian congregation in Spital fields, going one day 
to a meeting of Friends, were convinced of the truth of 
their doctrines, and joined the Society. Yincent took 
offence at this, and showed his displeasure by charging 
the Society with entertaining "the most erroneous and 
damnable doctrines." William Penn, coming to the knowl- 
edge of these circumstances, demanded an opportunity of 
clearing the Society of the accusation where it had been 
made, and, after some difficulty, the promise of a conference 
in the Presbyterian meeting-house w^as obtained. 

At the time named, he and George Whitehead came ; 
but Thomas Yincent had taken care to have the house pre- 
occupied by his usual auditory, and had three of his clerical 
brethren to assist and support him in the expected discus- 
sion. As Friends had been publicly charged with holding 
erroneous and dangerous doctrines, George Whitehead 
attempted, soon after the opening of the meeting, to explain 
to the audience what their doctrines really were. To this 
Yincent objected, and insisted upon deducing their prin- 
ciples from their answers to such questions as he should 
propound to them. Being supported in his plan by the 
company, who were chiefly his own hearers, he began to 
catechise them. 

The following syllogism, which Yincent used, may serve 
as a specimen of the mode of argument employed in that 
age of religious controversy. 

" There are three that bear record in heaven : the 
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three 
are one. 

" These are either three manifestations, three operations, 



S2 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

tbree satetances^ or three sonseiiiiiig else besides sub- 

"Bat they are not three manifestatioii^ three opera- 
tions, thiee sabsttnces, nor three anything else besides 
s'-ibsisiences. 

" Ergo, three sabastences.'' 

George Whitehead desired an eizplanation of the terms, 
*' inasmndi as God does not choctse to wrap up his truths 
in heathrai^ metaphysics, bat in plain langnage.^ 

A pat>tracted and desultory discossion ensaed, in which 
mach w^is said bat nothing- settled. Ma^iy of the company 
behaTed rudely, manifesting: by their lerity and abusire 
language, not only a want of religioas sobriety, bat of 
common ciriKty. After the dispute, for such it soon be- 
came, had continued till late at night, Thomas Tincent 
suddenly fell to prayer, in the coarse of which he charged 
the Friends present with being Uasphemers against God ; 
and as soon as he had finished he requested the company 
to dL^jerse, setting them the example by retiring with his 
three associates. As William Penn and Creorge White- 
head had not obtained the defied opportunity of vindicat- 
ing themselres and their f^ncipks, they disregarded this 
request, and a number of the company remaining together, 
ahhough the candles had been put out, they spoke for some 
time in the dark in defence of their principles, and in reply 
to the charges which had been thought against them. 
Thomas Tincent, finding the company had not dispersed, 
returned to them, and urged a dismission of the assembly. 
To this demand Friends acceded, npon his promising to 
afford them another meeting. 

After waiting sometime for the fulfilment of his prom- 



OF WILLIAM PEXX. 33 

ise, William Penn and George Whitehead went to his 
meeting on a lecture day, and having waited till the 
service was over, requested an opportunity of clearing 
themselves from the aspersions which had been cast upon 
them. But Tincent would neither retract the charges he 
had made, nor afford them the opportunity of vindicating 
themselves. 

William Penn, therefore, wrote in reply " The Sandy 
Foundation Shaken, or the generally belie ved doctrines 
of our Lord subsisting in three distinct and separate 
persons; the impossibility of God's pardoning sinners 
without a plenary satisfaction; and the justification of 
imp/ure persons by an imputative righteousness refuted." 

Of this controversy and the essay which grew out of it 
we may observe, that the method Thomas Yincent adopted 
to establish his charges of erroneous doctrines against 
Friends was to bring them to deny some of those opinions 
which he and his fellow-professors held to be fundamental 
truths. The dispute, therefore, turned not so much on the 
doctrines of Friends, as upon those of the Presbyterians, 
or at least upon those which Thomas Tincent and his co- 
adjutors proposed. The object which William Penn de- 
signed to effect by the pamphlet in question, consequently, 
was to*prove that the doctrines, as stated by his opponent, 
were not sound and scriptural, rather than to illustrate his 
o^v'n. He was then a young man about twenty-four years 
of age, had but recently become a professor in the Society 
of Friends, was well versed in the learning of the schools, 
possessed a very acute, discriminating mind, and having 
embraced the religion of the Quakers with all his heart, 
was full of zeal; it is therefore not surprising that he 

C 



84 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

followed his opponent upon the ground which he took, and 
exposed his absurdities and contradictions by arguments 
and illustrations, which have very little, if any, connection 
with the doctrines of Friends. 

It may be fairly admitted that some of the arguments 
advanced partake more of the metaphysical than the evan- 
gelical character. But they were elicited by the questions 
and arguments of his opponents. In a subsequent period 
of his life we find William Penn expressing very clearly 
his disapprobation of the practice to which the theological 
disputants of that day were too much addicted, and of 
which the course pursued by Thomas Yincent and his co- 
adjutors is a striking example. 

Being intent upon the exposure of Thomas Yincent's 
notion of distinct and separate personality, he directed his 
attention in the body of the work strictly to that object. 
Yet, as if he was apprehensive that his manner of treating 
the subject might incur the imputation of denying the 
scriptural doctrine of the three that bear record in heaven, 
he distinctly repels this imputation in these words: 
''Mistake me not — we never have disowned a Father, 
Word, and Spirit, which are One; but men's inventions." 

With regard to the other two subjects embraced in the 
title, it may be observed that the stress of the arguments 
lay in the impossibility of pardon being extended to sinners 
without a plenary and rigid satisfaction, and in the justi- 
fication of sinners by imputed righteousness, while they 
continued in their sins. To these points William Penn 
directed his arguments without in the smallest degree in- 
validating the virtue or benefits to the penitent and return- 
ing sinner, of that most acceptable propitiatory sacrifice 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 35 

which our Saviour offered upon the cross for the sins of 
mankind. This is apparent from the work itself, in 
w^hich he quotes several passages of Scripture where this 
precious doctrine is clearly enforced; but also from the 
following extract from a letter which he wrote in reply 
to some exceptions taken to " The Sandy Foundation 
Shaken." 

" I say that Jesus Christ w^as a sacrifice for sin, that 
He was set forth to be a propitiation for the sins of the 
whole world ; to declare God's righteousness for the re- 
mission of sins that are past, etc., to all that repented and 
had faith in his Son. Therein the love of God appeared, 
that He declared his good will thereby to be reconciled ; 
Christ bearing away the sins that are. past, as the scape- 
goat did of old, not excluding inward work ; for, till that 
is begun, none can be benefited, though it is not the work, 
but God's free love that remits 'and blots out, of which, 
the death of Christ, and his sacrificing of himself, was a 
most certain declaration and confirmation. In short, that 
declared remission, to all who believe and obey, for the 
sins that are past ; which is the first part of Christ's 
work (as it is a king's to pardon a traitor, before he ad- 
vanceth him), and hitherto the acquittance imputes a 
righteousness (inasmuch as men, on true repentance, are 
imputed as clean of guilt as if they had never sinned), and 
thus far justified ; but the completing of this, by the work- 
ing out of sin inherent, must be by the power and Spirit 
of Christ in the heart, destroying the old man and his 
deeds, and bringing in the new and everlasting righteous- 
ness. So, that which I writ against, is such doctrine as 
extended Christ's death and obedience, not to the first, 



36 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

but this second part of justification ; not the pacifying- [of] 
conscience, as to past sin ; but to complete salvation, with- 
out cleansing and purging, from all filthiness of flesh and 
spirit, by the internal operation of his holy power and 
Spirit." 

The work when it was published gave great offence. 
Among the offended persons were some of the prelates, 
of whom the Bishop of London was the most conspicuous. 
By these men it was made a subject of public animadver- 
sion, and an order was procured for the arrest of the au- 
thor, and his imprisonment in the Tower. 

In his new habitation he was treated with great sever- 
ity. He was not only kept in close confinement, but his 
friends were denied access to him. He was informed that 
the Bishop of London had resolved that he should either 
publicly retract his opinions or die a prisoner. He answered, 
*' All is well. I wish they had told me so before, since the 
expecting of a release put a stop to some business ; thou 
mayst tell my father, who I know will ask thee, these 
words : that my prison shall be my grave before I will 
budge a jot; for I owe my conscience to no mortal man; 
I have no need to fear, God will make amends for all ; 
they are mistaken in me ; I value not their threats and 
resolutions, for they shall know I can weary out their 
malice and peevishness, and in me they shall all behold a 
resolution above fear, conscience above cruelty, and a baf- 
fle put to all their designs by the spirit of patience, the 
companion of all the tribulated flock of the blessed Jesus, 
who is the author and finisher of the faith that overcomes 
the world, yea, death and hell, too. Neither great nor 
good things are ever attained without loss and hardships. 



OF WILLIAM PENI^. 37 

He that would reap and not labor, must faint with the 
wind and perish in disappointments ; but an hair of my 
head shall not fall without the providence of my Father 
that is over all." 

He wrote a letter to Sir Henry Bennett, Lord Arling- 
ton, then principal secretary of state, by whose warrant 
he was committed to prison. In this letter he denies the 
charges which had been brought against him, attributes 
the zeal shown by his persecutors to malice and ignorance, 
and requests that he may be restored to his liberty, as 
being imprisoned without just cause or proper examina- 
tion of his case. 

He says: " What if I differ from some religious appre- 
hensions? Am I therefore incompatible with human so- 
cieties? Shall it not be remeuibered with what success 
kingdoms and commonwealths have lived under the bal- 
ance of divers parties ? " "I know not any unfit for po- 
litical society, but those who maintain principles subver- 
sive of industry, fidelity, justice, and obedience;" ''but 
to conceit that men must form their faith of things proper 
to another world, according to the prescriptions of other 
mortal men of this, is both ridiculous and dangerous." 

" The understanding can never be convinced by other 
arguments than what are adequate to its own nature. 
Force may make hypocrites, but it can make no converts." 
" If I am at any time convinced, I will pay the homage 
of it to truth, and not to base hypocrisy." 

He requests the liberty of presenting his case to the 
king, and of clearing himself before him of the accusa- 
tions of his enemies ; and, finally, if that request should be 
denied, that Sir Henry Bennett himself would allow him 
4 



38 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

an opportunity of vindicating his innocence ; but he adds, 
'* I malve no apology for my letter, as a trouble, the usual 
style of supplicants, because I think the honor that will 
accrue to thee by being just, and releasing the oppressed, 
exceeds the advantages that can succeed to me.'' 

It appears that his commitment was altogether arbi- 
trary — that he was detained as a state prisoner, and not 
even informed of the accusation on which his imprison- 
ment was founded His request to be brought before the 
king, or the secretary of state, to be informed of the of- 
fence laid to his charge, and permitted to vindicate his 
innocence, was disregarded. Having waited for some 
time in expectation of the desired opportunity, he re- 
sumed his pen, and produced a small tract, by way of apol- 
ogy or explanation of '' The Sandy Foundation Shaken." 
This he entitled '' Innocency with her open Face." In that 
tract he reviewed the subjects discussed in the former, and 
explained himself more clearly on some points which had 
been misunderstood. 

Of the cause of his confinement, he remarks : 
" That which I am credibly informed to be the greatest 
reason for my imprisonment, and that noise of blasphemy 
which hath pierced so many ears of late, is my denying 
the Divinity of Christ, and divesting Him of his eternal 
Godhead ; which most busily hath been suggested, as well 
to those in authority as maliciously insinuated amongst 
the people." He then enters into an argument of con- 
siderable length, to prove the Godhead of Jesus Christ, 
which he thus concludes: ''In short, this conclusive argu- 
ment for the proof of Christ, the Saviour's, being God, 
should certainly persuade all sober persons of my inno- 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 39 

cency, and my adversaries' malice. He that is the ever- 
lasting Wisdom, Divine Power, the true Light, the only 
Saviour, the creating Word of all things, whether visible 
or invisible, and their upholder by his own power, is, 
without contradiction, God ; but all these qualifications, 
and Divine properties, are, by the concurrent testimonies 
of Scripture, ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ ; there- 
fore, without a scruple, I call and believe Him really to 
be the mighty God." 

On the other points, he says : " However positively I 
may reject my adversaries' unscriptural and imaginary 
satisfaction, let all know this, that I pretend to know no 
other name by which remission, atonement, and salvation 
can be obtained, but Jesus Christ, the Saviour, who is the 
power and wisdom of God." " As for justification by an 
imputed righteousness, I still say, that whosoever believes 
in Christ, shall have remission and justification ; but then 
it must be such a faith as can no more live without works 
than a body without a spirit ; wherefore I conclude that 
true faith comprehends evangelical obedience." 

His belief is summed up in the following declaration : 
" I sincerely own, and unfeignedly believe, by virtue of 
the sound knowledge and experience received from the 
gift of that holy unction and Divine grace, inspired from 
on high, in one holy, just, merciful. Almighty, and eter- 
nal God, who is the Father of all things ; who appeared 
to the holy patriarchs and prophets of old at sundry 
times and in divers manners; and in one Lord Jesus 
Christ, the everlasting Wisdom, Divine Power, true 
Light, only Saviour and preserver of all ; the same one 
holy, just, Almighty, and eternal God who in the fulness 



40 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

of time took and was manifest in the flesh. At which 
time He preached, and his disciples after Him, the everlast- 
ing Gospel of repentance, and promise of remission of 
sins and eternal life to all that heard and obeyed ; who 
said, ' He that is with you (in the flesh) shall be in you ' 
(by the spirit) ^ and though He left them as to the flesh, 
yet not comfortless, for He would come to them again, in 
the spirit : for a little while and they should not see Him 
as to the flesh ; again a little Avhile they should see Him 
in the spirit : for the Lord Jesus Christ is that Spirit, a 
manifestation whereof is given to every one to profit 
withal. In which Holy Spirit I believe as the same Al- 
mighty and eternal God ; who, as in those times He ended 
all shadows, and became the infallible guide to them that 
walked therein ; by which they w^ere adopted heirs and 
co-heirs of glory ; so am I a living witness, that the same 
holy, just, merciful. Almighty, and eternal God, is now, 
as then (after this tedious night of idolatry, superstition, 
and human inventions, that hath overspread the world), 
gloriously manifested to discover and save from all in- 
iquity, and to conduct unto the holy land of pure and 
endless peace ; in a word, to tabernacle among men. And 
I also firmly believe, that without repenting and forsaking 
of past sins, and walking in obedience to his heavenly 
voice, which would guide into all truth and establish 
there, remission and eternal life can never be obtained ; 
but them that fear his name and keep his command- 
ments, they, and they only, shall have right unto the tree 
of life." 

Soon after the publication of this work the author was 
discharged from the Totv er, after being detained there upon 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 41 

terms of unusual severity. His discharge came suddenly 
from the king, who had been moved to it by the interces- 
sion of the Duke of York. "Whether the father of William 
Penn applied to the duke for his interference, or whether 
the act was spontaneous on the part of the latter, is not 
now known. It is, however, understood that his enlarge- 
ment was owing to the friendly offices of the duke. This 
and other acts of kindness are sufficient to explain the 
reason of William Penn's friendship for James when he 
became involved in trouble. 

The following notes are from a fragment of Penn's 
autobiography, preserved in his own handwriting, and 
published in the memoirs of the Historical Society of 
Pennsylvania : 

'' The first time I went to court after I had embraced 
the communion I am of was in '68. The business that 
engaged me was the sufi'ering condition of my Friends in 
several parts of this kingdom, the cause of it tenderness 
of conscience, no evil fact. Those in company with me 
were George Whitehead, Josiah Cole, and Thomas Loe. 
The person went to was the Duke of Buckingham ; but 
an application at that time did not answer our expecta- 
tion, though in his own inclination he favored liberty of 
conscience. 

" The second time I went to court, was the same sum- 
mer, and upon the same errand, in company of G. White- 
head and Josiah Cole. We addressed ourselves to Sir 
Henry Berwick, then Secretary of State, with whom our 
business had no better success than before. I was much 
toucht with the sense of our Friends' many and great 
hardships, and the more for that they were inflicted in a 
4* 



42 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Protestant country, and came from Protestant hands, and 
could not but think the severities they lay under, for mere 
conscience to God, must necessarily bring the very Prot- 
estant religion under scandal abroad. Being Protestants 
in all those points wherein the very Church of England 
might claim that title, and whose main point was a strict 
and holy life, this made it seem reasonable and requisite 
to me to make their sufferings and them better known to 
those in authority ; charitably hoping that if they would 
give themselves the leisure to be truly informed of both, 
they would afford them better quarter in their own coun- 
try than stocks, whips, gaols, dungeons, praemunires, 
fines, sequestrations, and banishment, for their peaceable 
dissent in matters relative to faith and worship; and 
accordingly I had framed a scheme to myself for that 
purpose. But it so fell out, that towards the close of that 
year I was made incapable of prosecuting the resolution I 
had taken, and the plan I had laid of this affair, by a close 
and long imprisonment in the Tower of London, for a 
book I writ called ' The Sandy Foundation Shaken,' occa- 
sioned by some reflections upon us and our principles by 
one Tho. Yincent, a dissenting minister, because some of 
his congregation inclined to be of our persuasion. 

" I was committed the beginning of December, and was 
not discharged till the fall of the leaf following ; wanting 
about fourteen days of nine months. 

''As I saw very few, so I saw them but seldom, except 
my own father and Dr. Stillingfleet, the present Bishop 
of Worcester. The one came as my relation, the other at 
the king's command, to endeavor my change of judgment. 
But as I told him, and he told the king, that the Tower 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 43 

was the worst argument in the world to convince me; 
for whoever was in the wrong, those who used force for 
religion never could be in the right ; so neither the Doc- 
tor's arguments, nor his moving and interesting motives 
of the king's favor and preferment, at all prevailed ; and 
I am glad I have the opportunity to own so publicly the 
great pains he took and humanity he showed, and that to 
his moderation, learning, and kindness I will ever hold 
myself obliged." 



44 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 



III. 

WHILE imprisoned in the Tower, William Penn wrote 
a work entitled ''NO CROSS, NO CROWN," from 
which we take some passages illustrative of its character. 

Reader : — The great business of man's life is to answer 
the end for which he lives, that is, to glorify God and save 
his own soul. As one knowing the terrors of the Lord, I 
persuade thee to be serious, diligent, and fervent about thy 
own salvation. As one knowing the comfort, peace, joy, and 
pleasure of the ways of righteousness I exhort and invite 
thee to embrace the reproofs and convictions of Christ's 
light and spirit in thine own conscience, and bear the judg- 
ment of thy sin. The fire burns but the stubble ; the wind 
blows only the chaff. Yield thy body, soul, and spirit to 
Him who maketh all things new — new heavens and new 
earth, new love, new joy, new peace, new works, a new 
life and conversation. 

Christ's cross is Christ's way to Christ's crown. This 
is the subject of the following discourse, first written during 
my confinement in the Tower of London in the year 16G8, 
now reprinted with great enlargement of matter and tes- 
timonies, that thou mayest be won to Christ, or if won 
already, brought nearer to Him. It is a path which God 
in his everlasting kindness guided my feet into, in the 
flower of my youth, when about two and twenty years 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 45 

of age. He took me by the hand and led me out of the 
pleasures, vanities, and hopes of the world. I have tasted 
of Christ's judgments, and of his mercies, and of the 
world's frowns and reproaches. I rejoice in my experi- 
ence, and dedicate it to thy service in Christ. 

Though the Imowledge and obedience of the doctrine 
of the cross of Christ be of infinite moment to the souls 
of men, being the only door to true Christianity and the 
path which the ancients ever trod to blessedness, yet it is 
little understood, much neglected, and bitterly contradicted, 
by the vanity, superstition, and intemperance of professed 
Christians. 

The unmortified Christian and the heathen are of the 
same religion, and the deity they truly worship is the god 
of this world. What shall we eat ? What shall we drink ? 
What shall we wear ? And how shall we pass away our 
time ? Which way may we gather wealth, increase our 
power, enlarge our territories, and dignify and perpetuate 
our names and families in the earth ? It is a mournful 
reflection, but a truth which will not be denied, that these 
worldly lusts fill up a great part of the study, care, and 
conversation of Christendom. 

The false notion that they may be children of God while 
in a state of disobedience to his holy commandments, and 
disciples of Jesus though they revolt from his cross, and 
members of his true church, which is without spot or 
w^rinkle, notwithstanding their lives are full of spots and 
wrinkles, is of all other deceptions upon themselves the 
most pernicious to their eternal condition. For they are 
at peace in sin and under a security in their transgression. 



46 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

Their vain hope silences their convictions, and overlay :J 
all tender motions to repentance ; so that their mistake 
about their duty to God is as mischievous as their rebellion 
against Him. Thus they walk on precipices and flatter 
themselves, till the grave swallows them up and the judg- 
ment of the great God breaks the lethargy. 

O Christendom ! my soul most fervently prays that 
after all thy lofty professions of Christ and his meek and 
holy religion, thy unsuitable and unchristlike life may not 
cast thee at that great assize of the world and lose thee 
this great salvation at last. Can Christ be thy Lord and 
thou not obey Him ? He is none of thy Saviour whilst 
thou rejectest his grace in thy heart, by which He would 
save thee. Has He saved thee from thy sinful lusts, thy 
w^orldly affections, and vain conversations ? If not, then 
He is none of thy Saviour. For though He be offered a 
Saviour for all, yet He is actually a Saviour to those only 
who are saved by Him. ; and none are saved by Him who 
live in those evils by which they are lost from God, and 
which He came to save them from. 

It is from sin that Christ is come to save man, and from 
death and wrath as the wages of it. So far as people ob- 
tain victory over those evil dispositions and fleshly lusts 
to which they have been addicted, so far they are truly 
saved, and are witnesses of the redemption that comes by 
Jesus Christ. His name shows his work: "And thou 
shalt call his name Jesus, for He shall save his people from 
their sins." ''Behold," said John of Christ, "the Lamb 
of God that taketh away the sin of the world ! " 

Because tuere is mercy with the God of compassion, 
that He may be feared, He has sent forth his Son, a pro- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 47 

pitiation, and given Him a Saviour to take away the sins 
of tlie whole world, that those who believe and follow 
Him may feel the righteousness of God in the remission 
of their sins, and the blotting out of their transgressionii 
forever. Behold the remedy I an infallible cure, one of 
God's appointing. 

But thou wilt say, what is Christ, where is He to be 
found, and how received, and applied, in order to this 
mighty cure ? First, He is the great spiritual Light of 
the world, who enlightens every one that comes into the 
world; by which He manifests to them their deeds of 
darkness and wickedness, and reproves them for commit- 
ting them. Secondly, He is not far away from thee. 
Christ himself says, ''Behold I stand at the door and 
knock ; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I 
will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me." 
What door can this be, but that of the heart of man ? 
Like the inn of old thou hast been full of other guests ; 
there has been no room for thy Saviour in thy soul. 
Wherefore salvation is not yet come into thy house, 
though it is come to thy door, and thou hast often been 
proffered it, and hast professed it long. 

Wherefore, Christendom ! believe, receive, and apply 
to Him rightly ; this is of absolute necessity, that thy 
soul may live forever with Him. He told the Jews, '' If 
you believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins ; 
and whither I go, ye cannot come." So I say to thee, 
unless thou believest that He who stands at the door of 
thy heart and knocks, and sets thy sins in order before 
thee, and calls thee to repentance, be the Saviour of the 
world, thou wilt die in thy sins, and where He is goJie, 



48 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

tilou wilt never come. For if thou believest not in Him, 
it is impossible that He should do thee good, or effect thy 
salvation. Christ works not against faith, but by it. 

It is the nature of true faith to beget an holy fear of 
offending God, a deep reverence for his precepts, and a 
most tender regard to the inward testimony of his Spirit, 
as that by which his children, in all ages, have been safely 
led to glory. Those who receive Him thus, receive power 
to become the sons of God ; that is, an inward force and 
ability to do whatever He requires. Strength to mortify 
their lusts, control their affections, resist evil motions, 
deny themselves, and overcome the world in its most en- 
ticing appearances. This is the life of the blessed cross 
of Christ, which is the subject of the following discourse, 
and what thou, man, must take up, if thou intendest 
to be the disciple of Jesus. Nor canst thou be said to 
receive Christ, or believe in Him, whilst thou rejectest 
his cross. For as receiving Christ is the means appointed 
of God to salvation, so bearing the daily cross after Him 
is the only true testimony of receiving Him ; and, there- 
fore, it is enjoined by Him as the great token of disciple- 
ship, "If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." This, 
Christendom, is what thou hast so much wanted, and the 
want of it has proved the cause of thy miserable declen- 
sion from pure Christianity. 

The work of apostleship, we are told by a prime laborer 
in it, was to turn people from darkness to light, and from 
the power of Satan unto God. For this blessed work of 
reformation, Christ endued his apostles with his spirit and 
powder, that so men might no longer sleep in a security of 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 49 

sin, and ignorance of God, but awaken to righteousness, 
that the Lord Jesus might give them life. And truly 
God so blessed the faithful labors of these poor mechanics, 
his great ambassadors to mankind, that, in a few years, 
many thousands who had lived without God in the world, 
were inwardly struck and quickened by the word of life, 
and made sensible of the coming and power of the Lord 
Jesus Christ as a Judge and Lawgiver in their souls. 

By his holy light and Spirit, the hidden things of 
darkness were brought to light and condemned, and pure 
repentance from those dead works begotten in. them, that 
they might serve the living God in newness of spirit. 
Thenceforward they lived not to themselves, neither were 
they carried away of those former lusts by which they 
had been seduced from the true fear of God ; and by holy 
watchfulness against the secret motions of evil in their 
hearts, they crushed sin in its conception,, yea, in its 
temptations. So that, as the apostle John advises, they 
kept themselves, that the evil one touched them not. 
Thus it was, that where once nothing was examined, no- 
thing went unexamined. Every thought must come to 
judgment, and the rise and tendency of it be well approved 
before they allowed it any room in their minds. 

While this integrity dwelt with Christians, mighty was 
the presence, and invincible the power, that attended them. 
It quenched fire, daunted lions, turned the edge of the 
sword, out-faced instruments of cruelty, convicted judges, 
and converted executioners. Now, not a vain thought, 
nor an idle word, nor an unseemly action, was permitted ; 
no ; not an immodest look. No courtly dress, gay apparel, 
pompl-mental respects, or personal honors ; much less couid 
5 D 



50 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

those lewd immoralities and scandalous vices, now in y;ogTie 
with Christians, find either example or connivance among 
them. Their care was, not how to sport away their precious 
time, but how to redeem it, that they might have enough 
to work out their great salvation with fear and trembling. 
Having, with Moses, seen Him that is invisible, and found 
that his loving-kindness was better than life, and the peace 
of his Spirit than the favor of princes ; as they feared not 
Csesar's wrath, so they chose rather to sustain the afflictions 
of Christ's true pilgrims than to enjoy the pleasures of sin, 
that were but for a season ; esteeming his reproaches of 
more value than the perishing treasures of the earth. 

By this short view of what Christendom was, thou 
mayest see, O Christendom, what thou art not, and what 
thou oughtest to be. I lay this down as the undoubted rea^ 
son of this degeneracy, to wit : the disregard of thy mind 
to the light of Christ shining in thee, that first showed 
thee thy sins, and reproved them, and taught and enabled 
thee to deny and resist them. So when thou didst begin 
to disregard that light and grace, to be careless about that 
holy watch that was once set up in thine heart, and didst 
not keep sentinel there as formerly for God's glory and thy 
own peace, the restless enemy of man's good quickly took 
advantage of this slackness. 

Thou didst decline to audit accounts in thy own con- 
science with Christ, thy light, the great bishop of thy soul, 
and judge of thy works, whereby the holy fear decayed 
and love waxed cold, vanity abounded and duty became 
burdensome. Then up came formality instead of the power 
of godliness, superstition in place of Christ's institution, 
and, although Christ's business was to draw off the minds 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 51 

of his disciples from an outward temple, and carnal rites 
and services, to the inward and spiritual worship of God, 
suitable to the nature of divinity, a worldly, human, pomp- 
ous worship is brought in again, and a worldly priesthood, 
temple, and altar re-established. Those worldly pleasures, 
that make such as love them forget God, though once 
despised for the sake of Christ, began now to recover their 
old beauty and interest in thy affections. Thy heart grow- 
ing carnal, thy religion did so too ; and, not liking it as it 
w^as, thou fashionedst it to thy liking. So that a man may 
say with truth, thy condition is made worse by thy religion, 
because thou art tempted to think thyself the better for it 
and art not. 

At the door by which thou wentest out thou must come 
in ; and as letting fall and forbearing the daily cross lost 
thee, so taking up and enduring the daily cross must re- 
cover thee. No crown but by the cross, no life eternal 
but through death. And it is but just that those evil and 
barbarous affections that crucified Christ afresh should by 
his holy cross be crucified. Blood requires blood ; his cross 
is the death of sin, that caused his death ; and He is the 
death of death, according to that passage, death I I will 
be thy death I 

The cross of Christ is a figurative speech, borrowed 
from the wooden cross, on which Christ submitted to the 
will of God. The cross mystical is that divine grace and 
power which crosses the carnal wills of men, their corrupt 
affections and fleshly appetites ; and so may be justly 
termed the instrument of man's holy dying to the world, 
and being made conformable to the will of God. 

The preaching of the cross was fitly called by Paul the 



52 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

power of God, though to them that perish, it was then, as 
now, foolishness. That is, to those who were truly weary 
and heavy laden, and needed a deliverer, to whom sin was 
burdensome and odious ; the preaching of the cross by 
which sin was to be mortified, was the power of God, or 
a preaching* of the divine power, by which they were 
made disciples of Christ and children of God. But to 
those who walked in the broad way, in the full latitude 
of their lusts, and dedicated their time and care to the 
pleasure of their corrupt appetites, to whom all yoke and 
bridle were intolerable, the preaching of the cross was 
foolishness. 

Where does this cross appear, and where must it be 
taken up ? I answer, within : that is, in the heart and 
soul. The heart of man is the seat of sin, and where he 
is defiled, he must be sanctified ; and where sin lives, there 
it must die, it must be crucified. The enemy's temptations 
are ever directed to the mind, which is within. If they 
take not, the soul sins not ; if they are embraced, lust is 
presently conceived, that is, inordinate desires ; " lust con- 
ceived, brings forth sin ; and sin finished, that is, acted, 
brings forth death." 

In the next place, how, and in what manner, is the cross 
to be daily borne ? The way, like the cross, is spiritual. 
It is an inward submission of the soul to the will of God, 
as it is manifested by the light of Christ in the consciences 
of men, though it be contrary to their own inclinations. 
The way is narrow indeed, and the gate very strait, where 
not a word, no, not a thought, must slip the watch, or 
escape judgment. Such circumspection, such caution, 
such patience, such constancy, such holy fear and trem- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 53 

bling, give an easy interpretation to that hard saying, 
*' Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 
Those who are captivated with fleshly lusts and affections, 
for they cannot bear the cross ; and they that cannot 
endure the cross, must never have the crown. 

The great work and business of the cross of Christ in 
man is self-denial, a word of much depth in itself, and of 
sore contradiction to the world, little understood, but less 
embraced by it, which yet must be borne. The Son of 
God is gone before us, and by the bitter cup He drank, and 
the baptism He suffered, has left us an example that we 
should follow his steps. 

What was the cup He drank, and baptism He suffered ? 
I answer : they were the denial and offering up of himself 
by the eternal Spirit to the will of God, undergoing the 
tribulations of his life and agonies of his death upon the 
cross for man's salvation. 

What is our cup and cross that we should drink and 
suffer? They are the denying and offering up of our- 
selves, by the same spirit, to do or suffer the will of God 
for his service and glory. This is the true life and obe- 
dience of the cross of Jesus ; narrow still, but before, an 
unbeaten way. When there was none to help, not one to 
open the seals, to give knowledge, or to direct the course 
of poor man's recovery, He came in the greatness of his 
love and strength ; and though clothed with the infirm- 
ities of a mortal man, being within fortified by the Al- 
mightiness of an immortal God, he travelled through all 
the straits and difficulties of humanity; and, first of all 
others, trod the untrodden path to blessedness. 

It is this most perfect pattern of self-denial we must 
5* 



54 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

follow, if ever we will come to glory. To do this, let us 
consider self-denial in its true distinction and extent. 
There is a lawful and an unlawful self, and both must be 
denied for the sake of Him who, in submission to the will 
of God, counted nothing- dear that He might save us. 

The lawful self which we are to deny, is that conveni- 
ency, ease, enjoyment, and plenty, which in themselves 
are so far from being evil, that they are the bounty and 
blessings of God to us — as husband, wife, child, house, 
land, reputation, liberty, and life itself. These are God's 
favors, which we may enjoy with lawful pleasure, and 
justly improve as our honest interest. But when God 
requires them, at what time soever, or is pleased to try 
our affections by our parting with them ; I say, when 
they are brought in competition with Him, they must not 
be preferred, but denied. Christ himself descended from 
the glory of his Father, and willingly made Himself of 
no reputation among men, that He might make us of some 
with God. 

It is the doctrine He teaches us in these words : " He 
that loveth father or mother, son or daughter, more than 
me, is not worthy of me." It is the condition to eternal 
happiness : " He that will come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross and follow me." 

It is not for nought that the disciples of Jesus deny 
themselves; and, indeed, Christ himself had the eternal 
joy in his eye. For the joy that was set before Him, 
says the author to the Hebrews, He endured the cross. 
" And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, 
or sisters, or father or mother, or wife, or children, or 
lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 55 

and shall inherit everlasting life." It is this recompense 
of reward, this eternal crown of righteousness which, in 
every age, has raised in the souls of the just an holy 
neglect, yea, contempt of the world. 

Nor is this a new doctrine ; it is as old as Abraham. 
God often touches our best comforts, and calls for that 
which we most love, and are least willing to part with. 
Not that He always takes it utterly away, but to prove 
the soul's integrity, to caution us from excesses, and that 
we may remember Him, the Author of those blessings we 
possess, and live loose to them. I speak my experience. 
The way to keep our enjoyments is to resign them ; and 
though that be hard, it is sweet to see them returned, as 
Isaac was to his father, with more love and blessings 
than before. 

That unlawful self in religion, which ought to be mor- 
tified by the cross of Christ, is man^s invention and per- 
formance of worship to God, as divine, which is not so, 
either in its institution or performance. In this great 
error, those people take the lead, who attribute to them- 
selves the name of Christians, and are most exterior, 
pompous, and superstitious in their worship. Instead 
of excluding flesh and blood, behold a w^orship calculated 
to gratify them ; as if the business were not to present 
God with a worship to please Him, but to make one to 
please themselves. A worship dressed with stately build- 
ings and imagery, rich furniture and garments, rare voices 
and music, costly lamps, wax candles, and perfumes. 

Christ drew off his disciples from the glory and wor- 
ship of the oitward temple, and instituted a more inward 
and spiritual worship, in which He instructed his follow- 



56 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

ers. God is a spirit, and He will be worshipped in' spirit 
and in truth. It is not that bodily worship, nor these 
ceremonious services in use among you now, that will 
serve, or give acceptance with this God who is a spirit. 

God's presence is not with the house, but with them 
that are in it, who are the Gospe! church and not the 
house. Oh I that such as call themselves Christians knew 
but a real sanctity in themselves, by the washing of God's 
regenerating grace instead of that imaginary sanctity 
ascribed to places ; they would then know what the church 
is, and where, in these evangelical days, is the place of 
God's appearance. This made the prophet David say, 
" The king's daughter is all glorious within ; her clothing 
is of wrought gold." What is the glory that is within the 
true church, and that gold which makes up that inward 
glory ? Tell me, oh, superstitious -man ! is it thy stately 
temples, altars, carpets, tables, tapestries ; thy vestments, 
organs, voices, candles, lamps, censers, plate, and jewels, 
with the like furniture of thy worldly temples ? 

Nor is a recluse life, the boasted righteousness of some, 
much more commendable, or one whit nearer to the nature 
of the true cross. The Christian convent and monastery 
are within, where the soul is encloistered from sin. And 
this religious house the true followers of Christ carry about 
with them, who exempt not themselves from the conver- 
sation of the world, though they keep themselves from the 
evil of the world in their conversation. 

The in-w'ard, steady righteousness of Jesus is another 
thing than all the contrived devotion of poor superstitious 
man ; and to stand approved in the sight of God excels 
that ])odily exercise in religion resulting from the invention 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 57 

of men. The soul that is awakened and preserved by his 
holy power and Spirit, lives to Him in the way of his own 
institution, and worships Him in his own Spirit ; that is, 
in the holy sense, life, and leadings of it, which, indeed, is 
the evangelical worship. Not that I would be thought to 
slight a true retirement ; for I do not only acknowledge, 
but admire, solitude. Christ himself was an example of 
it ; He loved and chose to frequent mountains, gardens, 
sea-sides. It is requisite to the growth of piety ; and I 
reverence the virtue that seeks and uses it, wishing there 
were more of it in the world ; but then it should be free, 
not constrained. For divine pleasures are found in a free 
solitude. 

It is not performing duties of religion, but the rise of 
the performance that God looks at. Men may, and some 
do, cross their own wills in their own wills, voluntary 
omission or commission. Not keeping to the manner of 
taking up the cross in worship, as well as other things, 
has been a great cause of the troublesome superstition that 
is yet in the world. 

True worship can only come from a heart prepared by 
the Lord. And whatever prayer be made, or doctrine be 
uttered, and not from the preparation of the Holy Spirit, 
it is not acceptable with God ; nor can it be the true evan- 
gelical worship which is in spirit and truth ; that is, by 
the preparation and aid of the Spirit. For what is a heap 
of the most pathetical words to God Almighty, or the 
dedication of any place or time to Him ? He is a spirit, 
to whom words, places, and times, strictly considered, are 
improper or inadequate. Though they be the instruments 
of public worship, they are but bodily and visible, and 



58 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

cannot carry our requests any further, much less recom- 
mend them to the invisible God. They are for the sake 
of the congregation ; it is the language of the soul God 
hears ; nor can that speak but by the Spirit, or groan 
aright to Almighty God without the assistance of it. 

But it may be asked, how shall this preparation be ob- 
tained ? I answer, by waiting patiently, yet watchfully 
and intently, upon God. " Lord," says the Psalmist, " thou 
hast heard the desire of the humble ; thou wilt prepare 
their heart; thou wilt cause thine ear to hear." Thou 
must not think thy own thoughts, nor speak thy own 
words, which, indeed, is the silence of the holy cross, but 
be sequestered from all the confused imaginations that are 
apt to throng and press upon the mind in those holy re- 
tirements. Think not to overcome the Almighty by the 
most composed matter cast into the aptest phrase. No ; 
one groan, one sigh, from a wounded soul, an heart touched 
with true remorse, a sincere and godly sorrow, which is 
the work of God's Spirit, excels and prevails with God. 
Wherefore, stand still in thy mind, wait to feel something 
divine, to prepare and dispose thee to worship God truly 
and acceptably. Thus taking up the cross, and shutting 
the doors and windows of the soul against everything that 
would interrupt this attendance upon God, how pleasant 
soever the object be in itself, or however lawful or needful 
at another season, the power of the Almighty will break 
in, his Spirit will prepare the heart, that it may offer up 
an acceptable sacrifice. It is lie that discovers to the soul 
its wants, and presses them upon it ; and when it cries, 
He alone can supply them. Petitions not springing from 
such a sense and preparation, are formal and fictitious ; 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 59 

ihey are not tru e ; for men pray in their own blind desires, 
and not in the will of God ; and his ear is stopped to them. 
Bat for the very sighing of the poor, and crying of the 
needy, God has said He will arise. 

But what is this to them that are not hungry ? The 
whole need not the physician ; the full have no need to 
sigh, nor the rich to cry for help. Those who are not 
sensible of their inward wants, that have no fears and 
terrors upon them, who feel no need of God's power to 
help them, nor the light of his countenance to comfort 
them ; what have such to do with prayer ? Their devo- 
tion is, at best, but a serious mockery of the Almighty. 
They know not, they want not, they desire not, what 
they pray for. They pray that the will of God may be 
done, and do constantly their own. They ask for grace, 
and abuse what they have ; they pray for the Spirit, but 
resist it in themselves, and scorn at it in others. They 
request the mercies and goodness of God, and feel no real 
want of them. In this inward insensibility, they are as 
unable to praise God for what they have as to pray for 
what they have not. 

God himself speaks, by the mouth of Isaiah, in oppo- 
sition to the formalities and lip-worship of the degenerate 
Jews. " Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, 
and the earth is my footstool ; where is the house that ye 
build to me, and where is the place of my rest ? for all 
these things hath my hand made. But to this man will I 
look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and 
trembleth at my word." Behold the true worshipper 1 one 
of God's preparing, circumcised in heart and ear, that re- 
sists not the H^ly Spirit, as those lofty professing Jews did. 



00 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Much Liiglit be cited to show the displeasure of God 
against even his own forms of worship, when performed 
without his Spirit, and that necessary preparation of the 
heart in man, which nothing else can work or give. Above 
all other penmen of sacred writ, this is most frequently and 
emphatically recommended to us by the example of the 
Psalmist, who, ever and anon, calling to mind his own 
great slips, and the cause of them, and the way by which 
he came to be accepted of God, and obtain strength and 
comfort from Him, reminds himself to wait upon God. 
" Lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the 
God of my salvation ; on thee do I wait all the day long." 
This shows an inward exercise, a spiritual attendance, that 
stood not in external forms, but on inward divine aid. 

Another time, we have him crying thus : " As the hart 
panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after 
thee, God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living 
God; when shall I come and appear before Him? " This 
goes beyond formality, and can be tied to no lesson. We 
may by this see that true worship is an inward work ; 
that the soul must be touched and raised in heavenly de- 
sires by the heavenly spirit, and that the true worship is 
in God's presence. " When shall I come and appear ? " 
Not in the temple, nor with outward sacrifices, but before 
God, in his presence. The souls of true worshippers see 
God, make their appearance before Him ; and for this they 
wait, they pant, they thirst. 

From his own experience of the benefit of waiting upon 
God, and the saints' practice of those times, he recommends 
it to others : '' Wait upon the Lord, be of good courage, 
and He shall strengthen thy heart ; wait, I say, upon tho 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 61 

Lord.'^ Wait in faith and patience, and He will come to 
save ihee. Again, " Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently 
upon Him ; " cast thyself upon Him ; be contented ; and 
wait for Him to help thee in thy wants. Thou canst not 
think how near He is to help those that wait upon Him. 

The prophet Isaiah tells us that though the chastise- 
ments of the Lord were sore upon the people for their 
backslidings, yet in the way of his judgments, in the 
way of his rebukes and displeasure, they waited for Him, 
and the desire of their soul, that is the great point, was 
to his name, and the remembrance of Him. They were 
contented to be chid and chastised, for they had sinned ; 
and the knowledge, of Him in this way was very desira- 
ble to them. But did He not come at last, and that in 
mercy, too ? " Lo, this is our God, we have waited for 
Him, and He will save us." blessed enjoyment I O 
precious confidence I Here was a waiting in faith which 
prevailed. 

All worship not in faith is fruitless to the worshipper 
as well as displeasing to God. This faith is the gift of 
God, and the nature of it is to purify the heart, and give 
such as truly believe " victory over the world." But they 
go on : " We have^waited for Him, we will be glad, and 
rejoice in his salvation." The prophet adds, " Blessed are 
all they that wait upon God : " and why ? " For they that 
wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength ; they shall 
never faint, never be weary." The encouragement is 
great hear Him once more ! "For since the begin- 
ning Df the world, men have not heard, nor perceived by 
the ear, neither hath the eye seen, God I besides thee, 
what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him " 
6 



62 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Behold the inward life and joy of the righteous, the true 
worshippers I those whose spirits bowed to the appearance 
of God's spirit in them, leaving and forsaking all that it 
appeared against, and embracing whatever it led them to. 

" We know not," says the apostle, '' what we should 
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit helpeth our infirmi- 
ties." Men unacquainted with the work and power of the 
Holy Spirit, are ignorant of the mind of God ; and those, 
certainly, can never please Him with their prayers. It ia 
not enough to know we are in want ; but we should learn, 
whether it be not sent us as a blessing ; disappointments 
to the proud ; losses to the covetous, and to the negligent, 
stripes. Therefore, what to keep, what to reject, what to 
want, is a difficulty God only can resolve the soul. And 
since God knows better than we what we need. He can 
better tell us what to ask than we can Him. This made 
Christ exhort his disciples to avoid long and repetitious 
prayers; telling them that their heavenly Father knew 
what they needed before they asked. He therefore gave 
them a pattern to pray by ; not as some fancy to be a text 
to human liturgies, which of all services are most justly 
noted and taxed for length and repetition ; but expressly 
to reprove and avoid them. 

How to pray is still of greater moment than to pray ; 
it is not the request, but the frame of the petitioner's 
spirit. God needs not to be told of our wants by us. He 
must tell them to us ; yet He will be told them from us, 
both that we may seek Him, and that He may come down 
to us. But when this is done. To this " man will I look, 
saith the Lord, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite 
spirit, and that trembleth at my word." To the sick 



OF WILLIAM PENN 63 

heart, the wounded soul, the hungry and thirsty, the 
weary and heavy-laden ones; such sincerely want an 
helper. 

Christ often upbraided his disciples with, " ye of lit- 
tle faith I " Yet He tells us that one grain of it, though as 
little as that of mustard, one of the least of seeds, if true 
and right, is able to remove mountains. And to encour- 
age his disciples to believe, when they were admiring how 
soon his sentence was executed upon the fruitless fig-tree. 
He tells them, " Yerily, if ye have faith, and doubt not, 
ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig-tree, but 
also, if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed 
and cast into the sea, it shall be done ; and all things 
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall re- 
ceive." 

But some may say, it is impossible to receive all that a 
man may ask. It is not impossible to receive all that a 
man, that so believes, can ask. The fruits of faith are not 
Impossible to those who truly believe in God, who makes 
them possible. When Jesus said to the ruler, " If thou 
canst believe," He adds, " all things are possible to him 
that believeth." But some will say, it is impossible to 
have such faith. This very faithless generation would 
excuse their want of faith by making it impossible to 
have the faith they Avant. But Christ's answer to the 
infidelity of that age will best confute the disbelief of 
this. " The things that are impossible with men, are 
possible with God." It will follow, then, that it is not 
impossible with God to give that faith ; though it .is 
certain that " without it, it is impossible to please God ; " 
for so the author to the Hebrews teaches. And if it be 



64 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

impossible to please God, it must be so to pray to God, 
without this precious faith. 

But S'ome may say. What is this faith that is so neces- 
sary to worship, and that gives it such acceptance with 
God, and returns that benefit to men? I say, it is an 
holy resignation to God, and confidence in Him, testified 
by a religious obedience to his holy requirings, which 
gives sure evidence to the soul of the things not yet seen, 
and a general sense and taste of the substance of those 
things that are hoped for ; that is, the glory which is to 
be revealed hereafter. As this faith is the gift of God, 
so it purifies the hearts of those that receive it. The 
apostle Paul is witness, that it will not dwell but in a 
pure conscience ; he, therefore, in one place couples a pure 
heart and faith unfeigned together ; in another, faith and 
a good conscience. James joins faith 'with righteousness, 
and John with victory over the world. ''This," says 
he, " is the victory which overcomes the world, even 
your faith." To this faith no man comes, but through 
death to self, by the cross of Jesus, and an entire depend- 
ence, by Him, upon God. By it the holy ancients en- 
dured all trials, overcame all enemies, prevailed with God, 
renowned his Truth, finished their testimony, and ob- 
tained the reward of the faithful, a crown of righteous- 
ness, which is the eternal blessedness of the just. 

The care and love of all mankind are either directed to 
God or themselves. Those that love God above all, are 
ever humbling self to his commands, and only love self 
m subserviency to Him who is Lord of all. But those 
who are declined from that love to God, are lo\:ers of 
themselves more than God j f( r supreme love must centi 3 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 65 

in one of these two. To that inordinate self-love, the 
apostle rightly joins pride and high- minded ncss. For no 
sooner had the angels declined their love, duty, and 
reverence to God, than they inordinately loved and valued 
themselves ; which made them exceed their station, and 
aspire above the order of their creation. This was their 
pride, and this sad defection their dismal fall; who are 
reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the 
great day of God. 

Pride began the miser}' of mankind. Adam would 
needs be wiser than God had made him. It did not serve 
his turn to know his Creator, and give Him that holy 
homage to which his being and innocency naturally en- 
gaged and excited him ; nor to have an " understanding 
above all the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and 
the fishes of the sea ; " joined with a power to rule over 
all the visible creation of God. He must be as wise as 
God, too. The lamentable consequence of this great de- 
fection has been, an exchange of innocency for guilt, and 
a paradise for a wilderness. 

Nor is this limited to Adam ; for all who have fallen 
short of the glory of God, are right-born sons of his dis- 
obedience. They, like him, have eaten of what has been 
forbidden; they have ''committed the things they ought 
not to have done, and left undone the things they ought to 
have done." They have sinned against that divine light of 
knowledge which God has given them, they have grieved 
his Spirit, and that dismal sentence has been executed, 
" In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die." 
That is, when thou doest the thing which thou oughtest 
not to do, thou shalt no more live in my favor, and enjoy 
6^ E 



66 PASSAGES FROM THELIFE 

the comforts of the peace of my Spirit. This is a dying 
to all those innocent and holy desires and affections with 
which God created man ; and he becomes as one cold and 
benumbed, insensible of the love of God, of his Holy 
Spirit, power, and wisdom ; of the light and joy of his 
countenance ; of the evidence of a good conscience, and 
the co-witnessing and approbation of God's Holy Spirit. 

The true knowledge came with the joy of angels, sing- 
ing " peace on earth, and good-will towards men ; " the 
false knowledge entertained the message with calumnies. 
Christ must needs be an imposter, because He cried out 
against their hypocrisy, the broad phylacteries, the honor 
they sought of men. The truth is, He came to level their 
honor, to overthrow their rabbiship, and by his grace to 
bring the people to that inward knowledge of God whicli 
they, by transgression, were departed from. Their pride 
in false knowledge having made them incapable of receiv- 
ing the simplicity of the Gospel, Christ thanks his Father 
that He hid the mystery of it from the wise and prudent, 
and revealed them to babes. 

It is observable, that as pride, which is ever followed 
by superstition and obstinacy, put Adam upon seeking an 
higher station than God placed him in ; and as the Jews, 
out of the same pride, in order to outdo their pattern, 
given them to God by Moses upon the mount, set their 
post by God's post, and taught for doctrines their own 
traditions ; so nominal Christians have introduced, in- 
stead of a spiritual worship and discipline, that which is 
evidently ceremonious and worldly ; with such innova- 
tions and traditions of men as are the fruit of the wisdom 
that is from below. 



OF WILLIAM TEJ^N. 67 

And as this unwarrantable pride set them first at work 
to pervert the spirituality of Christian worship, making it 
rather to resemble the shadowy religion of the Jews and 
the gaudy worship of the Egyptians, than the plainness 
and simplicity of the Christian institution ; so has the 
same pride and arrogancy spurred them on, by all imagi- 
nable cruelties, to maintain this great Diana. Almost 
every history tells us, with what pride and cruelty, blood 
and butchery, and unusual and exquisite, tortures, they 
have persecuted the holy members of Christ, out of the 
world. 

Pride does extremely crave power, than which nothing 
has proved more troublesome and destructive to mankind. 
I need not labor myself much in evidence of this, since 
most of the wars of nations, depopulation of kingdoms, 
ruin of cities, with the slavery and misery that have fol- 
lowed, both our own experience and unquestionable his- 
tories acquaint us to have been the effect of ambition, 
which is the lust of pride after power. A very trifle is too 
often made a ground of quarrel ; nor can any league be so 
sacred or inviolable that arts shall not be used to evade 
and dissolve it to increase dominion. No matter who nor 
how many are slain, or made widows and orphans, or lose 
their estates and livelihoods ; what countries are ruined, 
what towns and cities spoiled, if by all these things the 
ambitious can but arrive at their ends. But ambition does 
not only dwell in courts and senates, \t is natural to every 
private breast to strain for power. We daily see how much 
men labor with their utmost wit and interest to be great, 
to get higher places or greater titles than they have, i/-.it 
they may look bigger and be more acknowledged. 



68 PASSAGES FllOM THE LIFE 

Great is their peace who know a limit to their ambi- 
tious minds, have learned to be contented with the ap- 
pointments and bounds of Providence, and are not careful 
to be great, but being great are humble and good. Such 
keep their wits with their consciences, and with an even 
mind can at all times measure the uneven world, rest fixed 
in the midst of all its uncertainties, and, as becomes those 
who have an interest in a better inheritance, in the good 
time and will of God cheerfully leave this, when the am- 
bitious, conscious of their evil practices and weighed down 
to their graves Vvith guilt, must go to a tribunal which 
they can neither awe nor bribe. 

Pride loves power, that she might have homage and 
that every one may give her honor ; and such as are 
wanting in this expose themselves to her anger and re- 
venge. 

What envy, quarrels, and mischiefs have happened 
among private persons upon conceit that they have not 
been respected according to their degree of quality among 
men, with hat, knee, or title, even duels and murders not 
a few. In Prance (before I professed the communion I 
am now of) I was myself once set upon about eleven at 
night, as I was walking to my lodging, by a person who 
waylaid me with his naked sword in his hand, and de- 
manded satisfaction of me for taking no notice of him at 
a time when he civilly saluted me with his hat, though 
the truth was I saw him not when he did it. Suppose he 
would have killed me, for he made several passes at me, 
or I in my defence had killed him when I disarmed him 
(as the earl of Crawford's servant who was by saw). I 
ttsk any man of understanding or conscience if the whole 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 69 

round of ceremony were worth the life of a man, consid- 
ering the dignity of his nature and the inipoitance of his 
life, both with respect to God his Creator, himself, and the 
benefit of civil society ? 

And here give me leave to set down the reason more 
particularly why I and the people with whom I walk in 
religious society have declined, as vain and foolish, several 
worldly customs and fashions of respect much in request 
at this time of day. 

The first and most pressing motive upon our spirits to 
decline the practice of these customs of pulling off" the 
hat, bowing the body or knee, and giving people gaudy 
titles and epithets in our salutations and addresses was 
that sight and sense which God, by his light and Spirit, 
has given us of the Christian world's apostasy from God, 
and the cause and effects of that great and lamentable de- 
fection. In the discovery of this the sense of our state 
came first before us, and we were made to sec Him whom 
we had pierced, and to mourn for it. A day of humilia- 
tion overtook us, and we fainted to that pleasure and de- 
light we once loved. Now our works went beforehand to 
judgment, a thorough search was made, and the words of 
the prophet became well understood by us: ''Who can 
abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when 
He appears ? He is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's 
soap." 

The brightness of his coming to our souls discovered, 
and the breath of his mouth destroyed, every plant He 
had not planted in us. He was a swift witness against 
every evil thought and every unfruitful work, and, blessed 
be his name, we were not offended in Him or at 



70 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

his righteous judgments. Now it was that a grand in 
quest camo upon our whole life. Every word, thought 
and deed was brought to judgment, the root examined 
and its tendency considered. '* The lust of the eye, th 
lust of the flesh, and the pride of life" were opened tc 
our view, the mystery of iniquity in us. By knowing 
the evil leaven and its divers evil effects in ourselves, how 
it had wrought and what it had done, we came to have a 
sense and knowledge of the 'states of others ; and w^hat 
we could not, nay, dare not, live and continue in ourselves, 
as being manifested to us to proceed from an evil principle 
in the time of man's degeneracy, we could not comply with 
in others. I say, and that in the fear and presence of the 
all-seeing, just God, the honors and respect of the world 
among other things became burdensome to us. We saw 
they had no being in paradise, that they grew in the night- 
time, and came from an evil root, and that they only de- 
lighted a vain and ill mind, and that much pride and folly 
were in them. 

Though it be frequently objected that we seek to set up 
outward forms of preciseness, and that it is but as a green 
ribbon, the badge of the party, to be better known, I do 
declare, in the fear of Almighty God, that these arc but 
the imaginations and vain constructions of men, who have 
not had that sense, which the Lord hath given us, of what 
arises from the right and the WTong root in man. And 
when such censurers of our simplicity shall be inwardly 
touched and awakened by the mighty power of God, and 
Bee things as they are in their proper natures and seeds, 
they will then know their own burden, and easily acquit 
us, w ithout the imputation of folly or hypocrisy herein. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 71 

To such an say that we strain at small things, which 
becomes not people of so fair pretensions to liberty and 
freedom of spirit, I answer, with - meekness, truth, and 
sobriety, first, nothing is small which God makes matter 
of conscience to do or leave undone. Next, inconsiderable 
as they are made by those who object to our practice, they 
are so greatly set by, that for our not giving them, we are 
beaten, imprisoned, refused justice, etc., to say nothing of 
the derision and reproach which have been frequently 
flung (it us on this account. 

A reason why we decline and refuse the present use of 
these customs in our addresses and salutations, is from the 
consideration of their very emptiness and vanity ; that 
there is nothing of true honor and respect in them, sup- 
posing them not to be evil. We declare to the whole 
world that we are for true honor and respect. We honor 
the king, our parents, our masters, our magistrates, our 
landlords, one another ; yea, all men, after God's way, 
used by holy men and women of old time ; but we refuse 
their customs as vain and deceitful, not answering the end 
they are used for. 

We cannot esteem bows, titles, and pulling off of hats 
to be real honor, because swch like customs have been pro- 
hibited by God, his Son, and servants in days past. 

A Scripture instance I shall urge against these customs 
is a passage in Job, thus expressed : " Let me not, I pray 
you, accept any man's person ; neither let me give flatter- 
ing titles unto man, for I know not to give flattering 
titles ; in so doing my Maker would soon take me away." 
The question that will arise upon the allegation of this 
Scripture is this, viz. : What titles are flattering ? The 



72 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

answer is as obvious, namely : Such as are erapty and 
fictitious, and make him more than he is. To call a man 
what he is not to please him, or to exalt him beyond his 
true name, office, or desert, to gain upon his aftection, 
who, it may be, lusteth to honor and respect. Such as 
these, most excellent, most sacred, your grace, your lord- 
ship, most dread majesty, right honorable, right worship- 
ful, calculated only to please and tickle poor, proud, vain, 
yet mortal man. Likewise, to call man what he is not, as 
my lord, my master, etc., and wise, just, or good, when he 
is neither, only to please him or to show him respect. 

It was common to do thus among the Jews under 
their degeneracy, wherefore one came to Christ and said : 
" Good master, what shall I do to have eternal life ? " 
It was a salutation or address of respect in those times. 
But what was Christ's answer ? How did He take it ? 
" Why callest thou me good ? " says Christ ; " there is 
none good save one, that is God." He rejected it, who had 
more right to keep it than all mankind. And why ? Be- 
cause though there was no one greater than He, yet He 
saw the man addressed it to his manhood, aftcy the way 
of the times, and not to his divinity which dwelt within it. 
Therefore He refused it, instructing us that we should not 
give such epithets and titles commonly to men. For good 
being due alone to God and godliness, it can only be said 
in flattery to fallen man, and therefore sinful to be so said. 

It should and ought to suffice with Christians, that these 
customs are severely censured by the great Lord and Mas- 
ter of all their religion. He tells us what that honor was 
they gave and received, which He condemns them for, atid 
of which He bids the disciples of his humility and cross to 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 73 

beware. His words are these, and He speaks them not of 
the rabble, but of the doctors, the great men, the men of 
hojior among the Jews : " They love the uppermost rooms 
at feasts," that is, places of greatest rank xind respect ; 
" greetings," that is, salutations of respect, such as pull- 
ing off the hat, and bowing the body are in our age ; " in 
the market-places," viz., in the places of note and con- 
course, the public walks and exchanges of the country ; 
and lastly, '* They love to be called of men. Rabbi, Kabbi," 
one of the most eminent titles among the Jews. A word 
comprehending an excellency equal to many titles, it may 
stand for your grace, your lordship, right reverend father, 
etc. It is upon these men of breeding and quality, that 
he pronounces his woes, making these practices some of 
the motives of his threatening against them. But He 
leaves it not here ; He pursues this very point of honor, 
above all the rest, in his caution to his disciples, to whom 
He gave in charge thus : " But be not ye called Rabbi, for 
one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. 
Neither be ye called masters ; but he that is greatest 
among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall 
exalt himself, shall be abased." These passages carry a 
severe rebuke, both to worldly honor in general and t*> 
those members and expressions of it in particular which 
as near as the language of Scripture and customs of tha- 
age will permit, do distinctly reach and allude to those of 
our own time. 

There is another piece of non-conformity to the world, 

and that is, thou for you, and that without difference or 

respect to persons, which to some looks so rude it cannot 

well go down without derision or wrath. But as we have 

7 



74 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the same original reason for declining this as the foregoing 
customs, 30 I shall add what to me looks reasonable in our 
defence. 

Though the world be divided into many nations, each 
of which, for the most part, has a peculiar language, spee( h, 
or dialect, yet have they ever concurred in the same num- 
ber and persons as much of the ground of right speech. 
Which undeniable grammatical rule might be enough to 
satisfy any that we are not beside reason in our practice. 
It is plain that thou is the only proper word to be used in 
all languages to a single person, because otherwise all 
sentences, speeches, and discourses may be very ambig- 
uous, uncertain, and equivocal. 

But some will tell us custom should rule us, and that is 
against us. It is easily answered, and more truly, that 
though in things reasonable or indifferent custom is oblig- 
ing or harmless, yet in things unreasonable or unlawful 
she has no authority. I know words are nothing but as 
men give them a value or force by use. But, then, if you 
will discharge thou and that you must succeed in its place, 
let us have a distinguishing word in room of you to be 
used in speech to many. But to use the same word for 
one and many when there are two, and that only to please 
a proud and haughty humor in man, is not reasonable in 
our sense, which, we hope, is Christian, though not mod- 
ish. 

If thou to a single person be improper or uncivil, God 
himself, all the holy fathers and prophets, Christ Jesus 
and his apostles, the primitive saints, and all languages 
throughout the world are guilty. It is a most extrava- 
gant piece of pride in a mortal man to require or expect 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 75 

from his fellow-creature a more civil speech or grateful 
language than he is wont to give the immortal God, his 
Creator, in all his worship to Him. Canst thou approach 
the God of thy breath and great judge of thy life with 
thou and thee, and when thou risest off thy knees scorn a 
Christian for giving to thee, poor mushroom of the earth, 
no better language than thou hast given to God but just 
before ? 

My friends, whatever you think, your plea of custom 
will find no place at God's tribunal. The light of Christ 
in your own hearts will overrule it, and this spirit, against 
which we testify, shall then appear to be what we say it 
is. Say not I am serious about slight things, but beware 
you of levity and rashness in serious things. To us, 
whom God has brought into a spiritual discerning of the 
nature and ground of the world's fashions, they appear to 
be fruits of pride and flattery, and we dare not continue 
in such vain compliances to earthly minds, lest we offenc? 
God and burden our consciences. And this know, from 
the sense God's Holy Spirit hath begotten in us, that that 
which requires these customs, and begets fear to leav" 
them, and pleads for them, and is displeased if the} ats^ 
not used and paid, is the spirit of pride and flattery in the 
ground, though frequency, use, or generosity may have 
abated its strength in some. 

The eternal God who is great amongst us, and is on his 
way in the earth to make his power known, " will root up 
every plant that his right hand hath not planted." It 
was extremely irksome to me to decline and expose my- 
self ; but having an assured and repeated sense of the 
original of these vain customs, that they rise from pride, 



76 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

self-love, and flattery, I dared not gratify that mind in 
myself or others. And for this reason it is, that I am 
earnest with my readers to be cautious how they reprove 
us on this occasion, and do once more entreat them that 
they would seriously weigh in themselves whether it be 
the spirit of the world or of the Father, that is so angry 
with our honest, plain, and harmless thou and thee ; that 
so every plant that God, our heavenly Father, hath not 
planted in the sons and daughters of men, may be rooted 
up. 

PiiTDE EXCITES pcoplc to an excessive value and care of 
their persons. They must have great and punctual at- 
tendance, stately furniture, rich and exact apparel, all 
which help to make up that pride of life that John tells 
us " is not of the Father, but of the world." That people 
are generally proud of their persons, is too visible and 
troublesome, especially if they have any pretence either to 
blood or beauty. The one has raised many quarrels among 
men, and the other among women, and men, too, often, 
for their sakes and at their excitements. What matter is 
it of whom any one is descended that is not of ill-fame, 
since his own virtue must raise or his vice depress him ? 
To be descended of wealth and titles fills no man's head 
with brains, or heart with truth ; those qualities come 
from a higher cause. 

Oh, says the person proud of blood, it was never a good 
world since we have had so many upstart gentlemen. But 
what should others have said of that man's ancestor when 
he started up first into the knowledge of the world ? 
Strange, that they should be more noble than their an- 
cestor, who got their nobility for them. But if this be 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 77 

absurd, iis it is, then the upstart is the noble man ; tho 
man who got it by his virtue, and those only are entitled 
to his honor who are imitators of his virtue, the rest may 
bear his name from his blood, but that is all. 

But personal pride ends not in nobility of blood. It 
leads folks to a fond value of their persons, be they noble 
or ignoble, especially if they have any pretence to shape 
or beauty. 

Art thou shapely, comely, beautiful, the exact draught 
of an human creature ? Admire that Power that made 
thee so. Live an harmonious life to the curious make 
and frame of thy creation ; and let the beauty of thy body 
teach thee to beautify thy mind with holiness, the orna- 
ment of the beloved of God. Art thou homely or de- 
formed ? With the grace that is given unto thee, for it 
has appeared unto all, learn to adorn thy soul with endur- 
ing beauty. Remember the King of heaven's daughter, 
the church of which true Christians are members, is all 
glorious within ; and if thy soul excel, thy body will only 
set off the lustre of thy mind. 

What folly, as well as irreligion, is there in pride? It 
cannot add one cubit to any man's stature. What crosses 
can it hinder ? What disappointments help or what harm 
frustrate ? It delivers not from the common stroke. Sick- 
ness disfigures, pain mis-shapes, and death ends the proud 
man's fabric. Six feet of cold earth bounds his big thoughts, 
and his person, which was too good for any place, must at 
last lodge within the strait limits of so little and so dark 
a cave ; and he who thought nothing well enough for him 
is quickly the entertainment of the lowest of all animals, 
even worms themselves. The proud man's antiquity cannot 
7* 



78 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

secure him from death, nor his heraldry from judgment. 
Titles of honor vanish at this extremity, and no power or 
wealth, no distance or respect can rescue or insure them. 
As the tree falls it lies, and as death leaves men judgment 
finds them. 

Truly it is a reproach to a man, especially the religious 
man, that he knows not when he hath enough, or when 
to leave off and be satisfied. That notwithstanding God 
sends him one plentiful season of gain after another, he is 
so far from making that the cause of withdrawing from 
the traffic of the world that he makes it a reason of launch- 
ing farther into it, as if the more he hath the more he may 
have. This is as if cumber, not retirement, and gain, not 
content, were the duty and comfort of a Christian. It is 
plain that most people strive not for substance, but wealth. 
Some there be who love it strongly and spend it liberally 
when they have got it. Though this be sinful, yet more 
commendable than to love money for money's sake. This 
is one of the basest passions the mind of man can be cap- 
tivated with. 

Thousands think themselves unconcerned in the caution 
who yet are perfectly guilty of the evil. How can it be 
otherwise when those that have, from a low condition, 
acquired thousands labor yet to advance, yea, double and 
treble those thousands. Is this to live comfortably or to 
be rich ? It hurts society, for old traders keep the young 
ones poor. And the great reason why some have too little, 
and so are forced to drudge like slaves to feed their fami- 
lies and keep their chin above water, is because the rich 
hold fast, and press to be richer, and covet more, which 
dries up the little streams of profit from smaller folks 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 79 

There should be a standard both as to the value and time 
of traffic, and then the trade of the master to be shared 
among his servants who deserve it. This were both to 
help the young to get their livelihood and to give the old 
time to think of leaving this world well, in which they 
have been so busy, that they might obtain a share in the 
other, of which they have been so careless. 

Man was made a noble, rational, grave creature. His 
pleasure stood in his duty, and his duty in obeying God, 
which was to love, fear, adore, and serve Him, and in 
using the creation with true temperance and godly modera- 
tion, as knowing well that the Lord his judge was at hand, 
the inspector and rewarder of his works. In short, his 
happiness was in his communion with God ; his error was 
to leave that conversation and let his eyes wander abroad 
to gaze on transitory things. The best recreation is to 
do good ; and all Christian customs tend to temperance 
and some good and beneficial end, which more or less may 
be in every action. 

Kedeem then the time, for the days are evil and yours 
but very few. Therefore gird up the loins of your minds, 
be sober, fear, watch, pray, and endure to the end, calling 
to mind, for your encouragement and consolation, that all 
such as through patience and well-doing wait for immor- 
tality shall reap glory, honor, and eternal life in the king- 
dom of the Father, whose is the kingdom, and the power, 
and the glory forever. Amen. 

The discourse is illustrated with many interesting re- 
citals of the example and sayings of pelf-denying men and 
wc jncn of all a^es of the world 



80 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 



IV. 

AT the time when William Penn was discharged from 
his confinement in the Tower, his father's asperity 
towards him was considerably softened. The mortification 
which he felt on discovering that his son was firmly united 
to the Society of Friends, then almost universally vilified 
and despised, mast ha\e rendered him averse to an open 
reconciliation. Yet the severity with which he saw him 
treated, the malicious efforts which were used to destroy 
his reputation, and the tedious imprisonment to which he 
had been subjected, could hardly fail to excite his sym- 
pathy; while the patience with which he sustained his 
complicated trials, the firmness with which he maintained 
his principles, and the innocent boldness with which he 
vindicated his character, excited his respect, and tended to 
satisfy his father both of the sincerity of his intentions 
and the soundness of his religious principles. He allow^ed 
him to reside at his own house, though he did not see him, 
and caused it to be signified to him, through his mother, 
that he might return to Ireland to execute a commission 
for him. He accordingly left London, and arrived at Cork 
in the Eighth month of 16G9. 

In the fragment of autobiography before alluded to, he 
says : " Within six weeks after my enlargement (from the 
Tower) I was sent by my father to settle his estate in 
Ireland, when I found those of that kingdom under too 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 81 

general i)ersecution, and those of the city of Cork almost 
all in prison ; and the jail by that means became a meeting- 
house and a workhouse, for they would not be idle any- 
where. I was sorry to see so much sharpness from English 
to English, as well as Protestants to Protestants, when 
their interests were civilly and nationally the same, and 
their profession of religion fundamentally so too. Having 
informed myself of their case, and the grounds of this 
severity, as near as they could inform me, (which, without 
doubt, was at least as much from envy about trade as 
zeal for religion,) I adjourned all private affairs to my 
return from Dublin, whither, in a few days, I went post, 
and after conferring with my friends at that city, and 
digesting the whole into a general state of our case, I 
went with two or three of them to the castle." Here 
his narrative ends ; but it is known that he went to Dub- 
lin, and attended the National Meeting of Friends, which 
was held at his lodgings. At that meeting an account of 
the sufferings of Friends was prepared, which, a few days 
afterwards, he presented to the lord-lieutenant. 

During his continuance in Ireland, he usually resided 
either at Dublin or Cork. His sympathy with those who 
were suffering on account of their religion led him often 
to visit those who were in prison, and to hold meetings 
among them. He also wrote several tracts to promote 
the cause of religion, one of which was ''A Letter to 
the Young Convinced." Some idea of the spirit of this 
production may be formed from the following extracts : 

" In the tender love of Jesus Christ, I earnestly entreat 
you, let us no more look back upon our ancient pastimes 

F 



82 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

and delights, but with holy resolution press on, press on ; 
for they will steal away our precious souls, beget new 
desires, raise the old life, and finally ensnare and pollute 
our minds again ; and what will be the end of such rebel- 
lion but woes and tribulations from the hand of the just 
God, world without end. Neither let us enter into many 
reasonings with opposers, for that is the life which God's 
power is rev^caled to slay; it is the still, the quiet, and the 
righteous life which must be exalted over all. And this 
I say in a sound understanding, through the mercies of 
the Lord, that deadness, darkness, and anguish of spirit 
will be the end of such disputing, pragmatical Christians 
whose religion consists much more in words than works, 
confessing than forsaking, and in their own will-perform- 
ances and external observations, than in the reformation 
and conversion of their souls to God. And we who have 
known something more of -the Lord may also reduce our 
good conditions to an utter loss by seeking to comprehend 
dubious matters in our understandings, and disputing 
about them with every opposer whom the devil, in a way 
of temptation, shall present to us ; which does no way 
advance our growth and increase in the noble principle of 
Truth. 

"And I beseech you, my dear friends, let not the fear 
of any external thing overcome the holy resolution we 
have made to follow the Lamb, Christ Jesus, through all 
the tribulations, trials, and temptations He and his follow- 
ers meet with. Oh, let us be valiant in God's cause on 
earth, who have but a few days to live. Let the constancy 
of the world to the momentary fashions, pleasures, and 
pollutions of it, the more ardently stir us up to express 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 88 

ours for the honor of our God against them all, who will 
reward us for whatsoever we bear, suffer, or part with on 
his account. Let neither father nor mother, sister nor 
brother, wife nor child, house nor land, liberties nor life 
itself, deter us from our holy constancy. Let us, however, 
be careful to show all due respect to our relations, not to 
be exalted or any way unruly, lest there be just cause 
taken against us, and the blessed Truth should suffer ; but, 
in the still, retired, holy, and patient life, which this pure 
Spirit of light and truth certainly brings into, let us all 
dwell and abide. 

"And, as one who is a traveller in his way, I beseech 
you all, in the holy awe of God, that you never forbear 
meeting and assembling yourselves with the holy remnant 
amongst whom we first received our blessed convincement. 
Let us be grave, weighty, and temperate, keeping low in 
body as well as mind, that in all things we may be ex- 
amples, and a sweet savor for God, who hath loved and 
called us. And, my dear friends, keep in the simplicity 
of the cross of Jesus, even in plainness of speech, and out 
of the world's flattering and deceitful respects ; for we are 
as well to be a cross in our garb, gaits, dealings, and salu- 
tations, as religion and worship, to this vain, adulterated, 
and apostatized generation. In the pure measure of Truth 
that has been manifested to every particular, and has 
convinced us of the unrighteousness of the world, and the 
vanity and emptiness of all its professions of God, Christ, 
and religion, let us stand and abide, that we may feel it to 
be our refuge and strong tower when the enemy shall 
approach, cither by inward exercises or outward bonds 
and suffering, which may overtake us for the trial of our 



84 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

most precious faith ; so shall we sensibly experience that 
heavenly blood of cleansing which only can give remission, 
cleanse Irom all sin, and finally purge the conscience from 
dead works to serve the living God." 

Having accomplished his visit in regard to his father's 
business, and rendered a number of signal services to 
his friends in Ireland, he returned to his native land. 
His father was now fully reconciled to him. Though the 
Admiral was only about forty-nine, yet his constitution 
had been so much impaired by the hardships of a seafaring 
life, and exposure to a variety of climates, that he was then 
sinking under the infirmities of premature old age. 

In the year IGtO the famous Conventicle Act was passed 
by Parliament, which prohibited dissenters from worship- 
ping God in their own way. It had been first suggested 
by some of the bishops. The chaplain of the Archbishop 
of Canterbury had previously printed a discourse against 
toleration, in which he asserted as a main principle that it 
would be less injurious to the Government to dispense 
with profane and loose persons than to allow a toleration 
to religious dissenters. ''This act," says Thomas Ell- 
wood, "brake down and overran the bounds and banks 
anciently set for the defence and security of Englishmen's 
lives, liberties, and properties, namely, trials by jury, in- 
stead thereof directing and authorizing justices of the 
peace (and that, too, privately out of sessions) to convict, 
fine, and by their warrants distrain upon offenders against 
it, directly contrary to the Great Charter." 

It was impossible that an act like this could pass with- 
out becoming a source of new suffering to William Penn 
situated as he then was, first, as a minister of the Gospel, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 85 

and, secondly, as a man who always dared to do what he 
thought to be his duty. Accordingly he was one of the 
earliest victims to its decrees ; for, going as usual with 
others of his own religious society to their meeting-house 
in Gracechurch Street to perform divine worship, the-y 
found it guarded by a band of soldiers. Being thus 
hindered from entering it, they stopped for a while about 
the doors. Others who came up joined the former and 
stopped also, so that in a little time there was a consider- 
able assembly on the spot. By this time William Penn 
felt himself called upon to preach ; but he had not ad- 
vanced far in his discourse when he and William Mead 
were seized by constables, who produced warrants signed 
by Sir Samuel Starling, then lord mayor, for that purpose. 
The constables after they had seized them conveyed them 
to Newgate, where they were lodged, that they might be 
ready to take their trial at the next session of the Old 
Bailey. 

This arrest was made known next morning to Admiral 
Penn by the following letter : 

" My Dear Father : — This comes by the hand of one who 
can best allay the trouble it brings. As true as ever Paul 
said it, such as live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer per- 
secution ; so for no other reason am I at present a 
sufferer. Yesterday I was taken by a band of soldiers 
with one Captain Mead and in the evening carried before 
the mayor ; he proceeded against me according to the 
ancient law ; he told me I should have my hat pulled off, 
for all I was Admiral Penn's son. I told him I desired 
to be in common with others, and sought no refuge from 
8 



Ob PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the common usage. I discoursed with him about the hat, 
but he avoided it. Because I did not readily answer him 
as to my name, William, when he asked rac in order to a 
mittimus, he bid his clerk write one for Bridewell, and 
there he would see me whipped himself, for all I was 
Pcnn's son that starved the seamen. I told him I could 
very well bear his severe expressions concerning myself, 
but was sorry to hear him speak those abuses of my father 
that was not present ; at which the assembly seemed to 
murmur. In short, he committed that person and me as 
rioters ; and at present we are at the sign of the Black 
Dog, in Newgate market. 

"And now, dear father, be not displeased nor grieved, 
w^hat if this be designed of the Lord for an exercise of our 
patience. I am very well, and have no trouble upon my 
spirits besides my absence from thee at this juncture. 

" Well, eternity which is at the door (for He that shall 
come will come, and will not tarry) — that will make 
amends for all. The Lord God everlasting consolate and 
support thee by his holy power, and preserve thee to 
eternal rest and glory. Amen. 

" Thy faithful and obedient son, 

''My duty to my mother. William Penn," 

On the first of the Ninth month the trial came on. The 
indictment stated among other falsehoods that the prisoners 
had preached to an unlawful, seditious, and riotous as- 
sembly ; that they had assembled by agreement made 
l)eforchand ; and that they had met together with force 
and arms, and this to the great terror and disturbance 
of many of His Majesty's liege subjects. The prisoners 



OFWILLT4MPENX. 87 

were brought to the bar, and pleaded not guilty to the 
indictment. The Court was then adjourned. 

On the third of the month, William Penu and William 
Mead were brought again into Court. One of the officers 
as they entered pulled off their hats. Upon this the Lord 
Mayor became furious, and in a stern voice ordered him 
to put them on again. This being done, the Recorder 
fined each of the prisoners forty marks, observing that the 
circumstance of being covered there amounted to a con- 
tempt of Court. 

The witnesses were then called in and examined. It 
appeared from their testimony that on the fifteenth of 
August between three and four hundred persons were 
assembled in Gracechurch Street, and that they saw William 
Penn speaking to the people, but could not distinguish 
what he said. One, and one only, swore that he heard him 
preach ; but on further examination he said that he could 
not on account of the noise understand any one of the 
words spoken. With respect to William Mead, it was 
proved that he was there also, and that he was heard to 
say something ; but nobody could tell what. This was in 
substance the whole of the evidence against them. 

It appears probable that the arrest was made in conse- 
quence of the Conventicle Act, then recently passed, but 
a prosecution upon that act was not sufficient to gratify 
the malice of the mayor and his associates. The mayor 
chose to commit them as rioters, and the indictment was 
apparently framed with a view to involve them and their 
case in the intricacies of the unwritten law, and to subject 
them to such penalty as the malice of the Court might pre- 
scribe. The definition of an unlawful assembly would 



88 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

appear to have been borrowed from the Conventicle Act ; 
for in the fourth section of that act, meetings for religious 
purposes, not according to the liturgy of the Church of ' 
England, are reckoned unlawful assemblies, yet we have 
no account that this act was quoted or referred to during 
the trial. The jury w^ere urged to convict William Penn 
of preaching to an unlawful assembly, without being in- 
formed what constituted such an assembly, or what pen- 
alty would be awarded. The fact of his speaking to a 
number of people in the street being established, if the 
jury could have been induced to decide that he was 
speaking to a tumultuous assembly, the Court would un- 
questionably have put their own construction upon it, and 
decided that the penalty as well as the offence was to be 
found in the lex non scripta. 

The witnesses having finished their testimony, William 
Penn acknowledged that both he and his friend were pres- 
ent at the place and time mentioned. "We are so far," 
says he, " from recanting, or declining to vindicate the 
assembling of ourselves to preach, pray, or worship the 
eternal, holy, just God, that we declare to all the world 
that we do believe it to be our indispensable duty to meet 
incessantly upon so good an account ; nor shall all the 
powers upon earth be able to divert us from reverencing 
and adoring our God, who made us." 

These w^ords were scarcely pronounced when Brown, 
one of the sheriffs, exclaimed that he was not there for 
worshipping God, but for breaking the law. William 
Penn replied that he had broken no law, and desired to 
know by what law it was that they prosecuted him, and 
upon what law it was that they founded the indictment. 



O F W I L L I ^ M P E N N . 89 

The Kecorder replied, the common law. William asked 
where that law was. The Uccorder did not think it worth 
while, he said, to run over all those adjudged cases for so 
many years, which they called common law, to satisfy his 
curiosity. William Penn thought if the law were com- 
mon, it should not be so hard to produce. He was then 
desired to plead to the indictment ; but on delivering his 
sentiments on this point, he was pronounced a saucy fel- 
low. The following is a specimen of some of the questions 
and answers at full length, which succeeded those now 
mentioned : 

Recorder. — The question is, whether you are guilty of 
this indictment. 

W. Peiin. — The question is not, whether I am guilty of 
this indictment, but whether this indictment be legal. It 
is too general and imperfect an answer to say it is the 
common law, unless we know where and what it is; for 
where there is no law, there is no transgression ; and that 
law which is not in being, is so far from being common, 
that it is no law at all. 

Becorder. — You are an impertinent fellow. Will you 
teach the Court what law is ? It is lex non scripta, that 
which many have studied thirty or forty years to know, 
and would you have me tell you in a moment ? 

W. Penn. — Certainly, if the common law be so hard to 
be understood, it is far from being very common ; but if 
the Lord Coke in his Institutes be of any consideration, 
he tells us that common law is common right, and that 
common right is the Great Charter privileges confirmed. 

Becorder. — Sir, you are a troublesome fellow, and it ia 
not to the honor of the Court to suffer you to go on. 
8* 



90 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

W. Penn. — I have asked but one question, and you 
have not answered nie, though* the rights and privileges 
of every Englishman are concerned in it. 

Recorder. — If I should suffer you to asli questions till 
to-morrow morning, you would be never the wiser. 

W. Fenyi. — That is according as the answers are. 

Recorder. — Sir, we must not stand to hear you talk 
all night. 

W. Penn. — I design no affront to the Court, but to be 
heard in my just plea ; and 1 must plainly tell you, that 
if you deny me the oyer of that law which you say I have 
broken, you do at once deny me an acknowledged right, 
and evidence to the whole world your resolution to sacri- 
fice the privileges of Englishmen to your arbitrary de- 
signs. 

Recorder. — Take him away. My Lord, if you take not 
some course with this pestilent fellow to stop his mouth, 
we shall not be able to do anything to-night. 

Mayor. — Take him away. Take him away. Turn 
him into the bale-dock. 

W. Penn. — These are but so many vain exclamations. 
Is this justice or true judgment? Must I, therefore, be 
taken away, because I plead for the fundamental laws of 
England ? However, this I leave upon the consciences of 
you, who are of the jury, and my sole judges, that if these 
ancient fundamental laws, which relate to liberty and 
property, and which are not limited to particular persua- 
sions in matters of religion, must not be indispensably 
maintained and observed, who can say he hath a right to 
the coat upon his back ? Certainly our liberties are to be 
openly invaded, and our estates led away in tr-umph by 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 91 

e^ery malicious informer The Lord of heaven and earth 
will be judge between us in this matter. 

Eecorder. — Be silent, there. 

W. Penn. — I am not to be silent in a case where I am 
so much concerned ; and not only myself, but many ten 
thousand families besides. 

Soon after this they hurried him away, as well as 
William Mead, who spoke also, towards the bale-dock, a 
filthy, loathsome dungeon. The Kecorder then proceeded 
to charge the jury. But William Penn hearing a part of 
the charge as he was retiring stopped suddenly, and rais- 
ing his voice exclaimed aloud, " I appeal to the jury who 
are my judges, and this great assembly, whether the pro- 
ceedings of the Court are not most arbitrary, and void 
of all law in endeavoring to give the jury their charge in 
the absence of the prisoners. I say it is directly opposite 
to and destructive of the undoubted right of every English 
prisoner, as Coke on the chapter of Magna Charta speaks." 
Upon this some conversation passed between the parties 
who were still distant from each other ; after which the 
two prisoners were forced to their cells. 

Being now out of all hearing, the jury were ordered to 
agree upon their verdict. Four, who appeared visibly to 
favor the prisoners, were abused, and actually threatened 
by the Recorder. They were then all of them sent out 
of Court. On being brought in again they delivered their 
verdict unanimously, which was, '' Guilty of speaking in 
Gracechurch Street." 

The magistrates upon the bench now loaded the jury 
with reproaches. Thoy refused to take their verdict, and 



92 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

immediately adjourned the Court, sending them away for 
half an hour to reconsider it. 

The time having expired, the Court sat again. The 
prisoners were then brought to the bar, and the jury 
again called in. The latter having taken their place de- 
livered the same verdict as before, but with this difference, 
that they then delivered it in writing, with the signature 
of all their names. 

The magistrates were now more than ever enraged at 
the conduct of the jury, and they did not hesitate to ex- 
press their indignation at it in terms the most opprobrious 
in open Court. The Recorder then addressed them as 
follows: ''Gentlemen, you shall not be dismissed till we 
have a verdict such as the Court will accept ; and you 
shall be locked up without meat, drink, fire, and tobacco ; 
you shall not think thus to abuse the Court ; we will have 
a verdict by the help of God, or you shall starve for it." 

William Penn, upon hearing this address, immediately 
spoke as follows : " My jury, who are my judges, ought 
not to be thus menaced ; their verdict should be free and 
not compelled ; the Bench ought to wait upon them, and 
not to forestall them. I do desire that justice may be 
done me, and that the arbitrary resolves of the Bench may 
not be made the measure of my jury's verdict." 

Other words passed between them; after which the 
Court was about to adjourn, and the jury to be sent to 
their chamber, and the prisoners to their loathsome hole, 
when William Penn observed that the agreement of twelve 
men was a verdict in law ; and such a verdict having been 
given by the jury, he required the clerk of the peace to 
record it, as he would answer it at his peril ; and if the 



OF WILLIAM PEN N. 93 

jury brouglit in another verdict contrary to this he aifirmed 
that they would be perjured in law. Then turning to the 
jury he said additionally, " You are Englishmen. Mind 
your privilege. Give not away your right." 

The Court swore several persons to keep the jury all 
night without meat, drink, fire, tobacco, or any other ac- 
commodation whatsoever, and then adjourned till seven 
the next morning. 

The next morning, which was the First day of the week, 
the jury were again called in, but they returned the same 
verdict as before. The Bench now became outrageous, 
and indulged in the most vulgar and brutal language, such 
indeed as would be almost incredible, if it were not upon 
record. The jury were again charged, and again sent out 
of Court ; again they returned, again they delivered the 
same verdict, again they were threatened. William Penn 
having spoken against the injustice of the Court in having 
menaced the jury, who were his judges by the Great 
Charter of England, and in having rejected their verdict, 
the Lord Mayor exclaimed, '' Stop his mouth, gaoler; bring 
fetters, and stake him to the ground." William Penn 
replied, " Do your pleasure ; I matter not your fetters." 
The Recorder observed, " Till now I never understood the 
reason of the policy and prudence of the Spaniards in 
suffering the Inquisition among them ; and certainly it 
will never be well with us till something like the Spanish 
Inquisition be in England." Upon this the jury were 
ordered to withdraw to find another verdict ; but they 
refused, saying they had already given it, and that they 
could find no other. The Sheriff then forced them away. 
Several persons were immediately sworn to keep them 



94 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

without any accommodation as before, and the Court ad 
journed till seven the next morning. 

The next day the jury, who had received no refreshments 
for two days and two nights, were again called in and the 
business resumed. The Court demanded a positive answer 
to these words, " Guilty or not guilty ? " The foreman 
of the jury, Edward Bushell, replied, '' Not guilty." Every 
juryman was then required to repeat this answer separate- 
ly. This he did to the satisfaction of almost all in Court. 
The following address and conversation then passed. 

Recorder. — Gentlemen of the jury, I am sorry you 
have followed your own judgments rather than the good 
advice which was given you. God keep my life out of 
your hands ! But for this the Court fines you forty marks 
a man, and imprisonment till paid. 

W. Penn. — I demand my liberty, being freed by the 
jury. 

Mayor. — No. You are in for your fines. 

W. Penn. — Fines for what ? 

Mayor. — For contempt of Court. 

W. Penn. — I ask if it be according to the fundamental 
laws of England that any Englishman should be fined or 
amerced but by the judgment of his peers or jury, since 
it expressly contradicts the fourteenth and twenty-ninth 
chapters of the Great Charter of England, which snys 
" No freeman shall be amerced but by the oath of good 
and lawful men of the vicinage." 

Recorder. — Take him away. 

W. Penn. — I can never urge the fundamental laws of 
England but you cry, " Take him away ; " but it is no 
wonder, since the Spanish Inquisition has so great a place 



OF WILLIAM PENK. 95 

in the Recorder's heart. God, who is just, will judge you 
for all the^e things." 

These words were no sooner uttered than William Penn 
and his friend, William Mead, were forced into the bale- 
dock, from whence they were sent to Newgate. Every 
one of the jury also were sent to the latter prison. 

Thus ended this famous trial, which was sustained by 
William Penn with so much ability at the age of twenty- 
five. 
I A few days afterwards he wrote to Admiral Penn : 

'' Dear Father : — I desire thee not to be troubled at 
my present confinement ; I could scarce suffer on a better 
account nor by a worse hand, and the will of God be done. 
It is more grievous and uneasy to me that thou should be 
so heavily exercised, God Almighty knows, than any 
worldly concernment. I am cleared by the jury ; and they 
are here in my place, and resolved to lie till they get out 
by law. Every six hours they demand their freedom by 
advice of counsel. 

" They (the Court) have so overshot themselves that the 
generality of people much detest them. I entreat thee not 
to purchase my liberty. 

'' I desire in fervent prayer the Lord God to strengthen 
and support thee, and to anchor thy mind in thoughts of 
the immutable blessed state which is over all perishing 
concerns. 

" I am, dear father, thy obedient son, 

William Penn." 

The next day he wrote : 



96 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

"Dear Father: — I am truly grieved to hear of thy 
present illness. If God, in his holy will, did see meet 
that I should be freed, I could heartily embrace it ; yet, 
considering I cannot be free but upon such terms as 
strengthen their arbitrary and base proceedings, I rather 
choose to suffer any hardship. 

'' I am not without hope that the Lord will sanctify the 
endeavors of thy physician unto a cure, and then much of 
my solicitude will be at an end. Solace thy mind in the 
thoughts of better things, dear father." 

There had never been in England, up to this period, a 
settled and defined usage with regard to verdicts. Judges 
had sometimes fined inconvenient and persistent juries, 
and it had practically been an undetermined question how 
far they had a right to bring in verdicts contrary to the 
views of the court. This great point was now to be de- 
cided. Suit was brought by Edward Bushell and his fel- 
low jurors against Sir Samuel Starling, the Lord Mayor, 
and Sir John Howell, the Recorder of London, for illegal 
imprisonment. 

The Court of Common Pleas adopted the view that the 
bench, though at liberty to offer suggestions to the jury- 
men for their consideration, may not lawfully coerce them; 
and confirmed the doctrine of Lord Coke, that the jury, 
and not the judge, were the arbiters in regard to facts ; 
and that the province of the judge was to point out and 
apply the law to such facts as are found by the jury. The 
issue of the trial was that the prisoners were ordered to 
be discharged. 

This celebrated trial was productive o.^ important bene- 



OF WILI.TAM PENN. 97 

ficial results to the people of England. It awakened their 
attention to the arbitrary and oppressive proceedings of the 
courts under the pretended sanction of law, by which the 
most flagrant violations of justice were often practised with 
impunity. The able and undaunted manner in which the 
prisoners contended for their rights and liberties, and the 
noble stand made by the jurors against the rude and 
shameless attempts of the Court to browbeat and intimi- 
date them, opened the eyes of the people to their true in- 
terests, and the necessity of claiming their chartered priv- 
ileges ; and thus the trial was instrumental in establishing 
them on a firmer basis than they ever were before ; the 
freedom of juries being now asserted by a solemn judicial 
decision. 

Admiral Penn was fast descending to the grave, and 
very desirous of the company and consolation of his son ; 
he therefore did not choose to wait the tardy operation of 
the law, but privately sent the money and procured the 
discharge of both the prisoners. Foreseeing that his son 
must often be subjected to inconvenience from the perse- 
cuting laws of the time, he sent one of his friends to the 
Duke of York with his dying request, that he would en- 
deavor to protect his son, as far as he consistently could, 
and that he would desire the king to do the same in case 
of future persecution. The answers both from the king 
and the duke were favorable to the wishes of the Admiral. 
Only eleven days were left to Sir William Penn after the 
close of the trial at the Old Bj^ley, for he died on the 16th 
of the same month. 

At a time of serious reflection and not long before his 
death, he spoke thus : '' Son William, I am weary of the 
9 G 



98 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

world. T would not live over my days again if I could 
command them with a wish ; for the snares of life are 
greater than the fears of death. This troubles me, that I 
have offended a gracious God. The thought of this has 
followed me to this day. Oh, have a care of sin I It is 
that which is the sting both of life and death. Three 
things I commend to you. First, let nothing in this 
world tempt you to wrong your conscience ; I charge you 
do nothing against your conscience ; so will you keep 
peace at home, which will be a feast to you in a day of 
tr/ouble. Secondly, whatever you design to do lay it 
justly and time it seasonably, for that gives security and 
despatch. Thirdly, be not troubled at disappointments ; 
for if they may be recovered, do it ; if they cannot, 
trouble is then vain. If you could not have helped it, 
be content ; there is often peace and profit in submitting 
to Providence ; for afflictions make wise. If you could 
have helped it, let not your trouble exceed instruction for 
another time. These rules will carry you with firmness 
and comfort through this inconstant world." 

Just before he died, looking at his son with the most 
composed countenance, he said, " Son William, if you and 
your friends keep to your plain way of preaching-, and 
keep to your plain way of living, you will make an end 
of the priests to the end of the world. Bury me by my 
mother. Live all in love. Shun all manner of evil. And 
I pray God to bless you all, and He will bless you all." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 99 



V. 

DURING the winter of 1610 William Penn resided at 
the old family seat in Buckinghamshire. A pamphlet 
falling into his hands which contained a professed sum- 
mary of the doctrines held by the Roman Catholic Church, 
he wrote a reply to it, which he entitled ''A Seasonable 
Caveat against Popery." 

To prevent a misapprehension of his design, he dis- 
tinctly stated in his preface that he fully believed many 
of the Romanists were abused zealots (ignorantly zealous) 
through the idle, voluminous traditions of their church, 
whom he rather pitied than dared to wrong, and that he 
had no design to incense the civil magistrate against them, 
for he professed himself a friend to universal toleration in 
regard to faith and worship. 

From the manner in which he treated his subject 
throughout the essay, and more especially from some ob- 
servations near the close, it appears that he entertained 
some apprehension that efforts were then about being 
made, near the court, to reintroduce the popish religion in 
its ancient splendor into England. The doctrines and 
practice of the Romish church are exposed with great 
freedom and severity. The inconsistency of many of 
their tenets with the testimony of Scripture, with right 
reason, with the opinions of the early Christians, and with 
each other, are clearly pointed out. 

William Penn soon after took a shcrt journey, in the 



100 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

course of which it happened that he stopped at Oxford. 
Learning there that several of the members of his own 
Society had been treated with great cruelty by the stu- 
dents on account of their religious meetings, and having 
reason to believe that the vice-chancellor himself was not 
blameless in that respect, he addressed to him a letter, of 
which the following is the introductory sentence : 

" Shall the multiplied oppressions, which thou continuest 
to heap upon innocent English people for their peaceable 
religious meetings, pass unregarded by the Eternal God ? 
Dost thou think to escape his fierce wrath and dreadful 
vengeance for thy ungodly and illegal persecutions of his 
poor children ? I tell thee. No. Better were it for thee 
thou hadst never been born Poor mushroom, wilt thou 
war against the Lord, and lift up thyself in battle against 
the Almighty ? Canst thou frustrate his holy purposes, 
and bring his determinations to nought ? " 

Never perhaps before were the learning and dignity of 
a vice-chancellor of Oxford, as appears by this extract, so 
little thought of as on this occasion by William Penn. 
But we find that this man was an active persecutor of the 
non-conformists, and about this time so far degraded his 
station, as to employ an unprincipled fellow to travel about 
the country, and under the assumed character of a relig- 
ious professor, insinuate himself into the company and 
confidence of the various dissenters, for the purpose cf 
subjecting them to the penalties prescribed by the perse- 
cuting laws of the time. A vice-chancellor of Oxford, 
who could employ such characters to effect his purposes, 
could expect but little deference from a man of William 
Penn's principles and understanding. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 101 

After his return from Buckinghamshire to London, Sir 
John Robinson, Lieutenant of tlie Tower, one of the 
judges at the trial of William Penn and William Mead, 
at the Old Bailey, who had been thwarted and overruled 
by the acquittal of the jury in that case, sought oppor- 
tunity to entrap him, and bring him to a form of trial 
which would not require a jury. He was a nephew of 
Archbishop Laud, vindictive in his feelings towards dis- 
senters, cunning and unscrupulous, and irritated by Wil- 
liam Penn's able and undaunted defence. Other means 
of securing a conviction failing, he relied on tendering 
the oath of allegiance, which he knew that he would not 
take because of his conscientious scruples against all 
oaths. Having obtained information that he was to be 
at a meeting in Wheeler Street, he sent a sergeant with 
a file of soldiers to take him. They took their station 
near the door, where they waited until William Penn 
stood up and began to preach, when the sergeant pulled 
him down, and led him to the door. There a constable and 
his assistants were standing ready to join him, and they con- 
veyed their prisoner to the Tower, and set a guard over 
him. In the evening he was taken before the lieutenant 
for examination, in the presence of Sir Samuel Starling, 
Sir John Sheldon, and others. 

When the examination commenced, Sir John Robinson 
inquired his name, pretending he did not know him, not- 
withstanding their recent acquaintance at the Old Bailey, 
and the fact that he had a mittimus already prepared, with 
his name inserted. When they were about to prove, by 
the oaths of the constables, that he had been taken at a 
meeting, he requested that the oath might not be admin- 



102 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

istercd, for he freely acknowledged he was at the meeting 
at Wheeler Street, and spoke to the people there. The 
oath, however, was administered ; but though the witnesses 
testified that he was speaking ttf the people, they could not 
be induced to declare that the assembly was an unlawful 
one. This appears to have disconcerted Robinson, who 
relied on their testimony to convict him under the Con- 
venticle Act. He then told William Penn that they were 
not going to try him upon that act, but upon one passed 
in 1665, usually called the Oxford act. This act, in its 
terms, applied to ''parsons and others, in holy orders, who 
had not subscribed the act of uniformity, and yet had 
taken upon them to preach, in unlawful assemblies, and 
to instil the poisonous principles of schism and rebellion 
in the hearts of his majesty's subjects, to the church and 
kingdom ; " and required that all such non-conformist 
ministers should take an oath of a prescribed form. In 
case of refusal to take the oath, they were subjected to 
certain disabilities, under heavy forfeitures. Any tw. 
justices of peace, upon oath made before them of any 
offence committed against the act, w^ere empowered to 
commit the offender to prison for six months. 

William Penn immediately showed them that the Ox- 
ford act did not apply to him, for he had never been in 
orders at all. Sir John Kobinson, however, ordered the 
oatJi to be read, and inquired whether he would take it or 
not. lie replied that he was conscientiously restrained from 
doing all that he was required by the oath to engage not to 
do, and therefore the oath was to him entirely needless. He 
informed them that his refusal to swear was not on ac- 
count of the matter conrtained in the oath ; but wa3 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 103 

founded on better reasons than they could give for urginc^ 
him to swear. In the course of the examination, Sir John 
told him '' he had been as bad as others ; " on which Wil- 
liam Penn demanded of him when and where. He re- 
plied ''abroad and at home, too." To which William 
Penn returned the following energetic reply : " I make 
this bold challenge to all men, women, and children upon 
earth, justly to accuse me with ever having seen me 
drunk, heard me swear, utter a curse, or speak one ob- 
scene word, much less that I ever made it my practice. I 
speak this to God's glory, who has ever preserved me from 
the power of these pollutions, and who from a child begot 
an hatred in me towards them. But there is nothing more 
common, when men are of a more severe life than ordi- 
nary, than for loose persons to comfort themselves with 
the conceit that they were once as they are. Thy words 
shall be thy burden, and I trample thy slander as dirt 
under my feet." The following dialogue then ensued : 

Sir John Robinson. — Well, Mr. Penn, I have no ill-will 
towards you ; your father was my friend, and I have a 
great regard for you. 

William Penn.—^\ii thou hast an ill way of express- 
ing it. 

Bobinson. — But you do nothing but stir up the people 
to sedition. 

Penn. — Bring me the man that will dare to justify this 
accusation to my face ; and if I am not able to make it 
appear that it is both my practice, and all my friends, to 
instil principles of peace and moderation, and only to war 
against spiritual wickedness, that all men may be brought 
to fear God and work righteousness, I shall contentedly 



104 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

undergo the severest punishment all your laws can expose 
me to. 

Robinson. — Well, I must send you to Newgate for six 
months, and when they are expired, you will come out. 

Penn. — Is that all ? Thou knowest a larger imprison- 
ment has not daunted me. I accept it at the hand of the 
Lord, and am contented to suffer his will. Alas I you 
mistake your interest, you will miss your aim ; this is not 
the way to compass your ends. 

I would have thee and all men to know that I scorn that 
religion which is not worth suffering for, and able to sus- 
tain those that are afflicted for it. Mine is, and whatever 
may be my lot for my constant profession of it, I am no 
ways careful, but resigned to answer the will of God by 
the loss of goods, liberty, and life itself. Thy religion 
persecutes, mine forgives ; and I desire my God to forgive 
you all that are concerned in my commitment, and I leave 
you all in perfect charity, wishing you eternal salvation. 

He was then sent to the noisome prison of Newgate, 
to expiate, by a six months' confinement, the offence of 
preaching the Gospel to his brethren, and refusing to 
disobey the commandment of Christ. 



OF WILLIAM PENK. 105 



^ VI. 

WILLIAM PENN did not permit the time of Lis im- 
prisonment to be lost to himself or the community ; 
but wrote several tracts, chiefly of a religious character, 
which were soon afterwards given to the world. 

The first of these is entitled, '' The great case of Lib- 
erty of Conscience, once more briefly debated, and de- 
fended by the authority of reason, Scripture, and an- 
tiquity." 

In the preface he maintained that the enaction of such 
laws as restrained persons from the free exercise of their 
consciences in matters of religion, was but ''the knotting 
of whipcord on the part of the enactors to lash their own 
posterity, whom they could never promise to be conformed 
for ages to come to a national religion." 

He maintained that they who imposed fetters upon the 
conscience, and persecuted for conscience' sake, defeated 
God's work of grace, or the invisible operation of his 
Holy Spirit, which alone could beget faith ; that they 
claimed infallibility, which all good Protestants rejected ; 
and that they usurped the divine prerogative, assuming 
the judgment of the great tribunal, and thereby robbing 
the Almighty of a right which belonged exclusively to 
himself; that they overthrew the Christian religion in the 
very nature of it, for it was spiritual, and not of this 
world; in the very practice of it, for this consisted of 



106 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

meekness ; in the promotion of it, for it was clear that 
they never d-^signed to be better themselves, and they 
discouraged others in their religious growth ; and in the 
rewards of it, for where men were religious out of fear, 
and this out of the fear of men, their religion was condkem- 
nation and not peace ; that they opposed the plainest testi- 
monies of Divine writ, which concurred in condemning all 
force upon the conscience ; that they acted contrary to all 
true notions of government, first, as to the nature of it, 
which was justice; secondly, as to the execution of it, 
which was prudence ; and, thirdly, as to the end of it, 
which was happiness. 

The dissertation is closed in these words . 

" Liberty of conscience, as thus stated and defended, 
we ask as our undoubted right by the law of God, of 
nature, and of our own country. It has been often prom- 
ised. We have long waited for it, we have written much 
and suffered in its defence, and have made many true com- 
plaints, but found little or no redress. 

" But, if after all we have said, this short discourse 
should not be credited, nor answered in any of its sober 
reasons and requests, but suifcrings should be the present 
lot of our inheritance from this generation, be it known to 
them all, that meet we must, and meet we cannot but en- 
courage all to do, whatsoever hardship we sustain, in God's 
name and authority who is Lord of hosts and King of 
kings, at the revelation of whose righteous judgments and 
glorious tribunal mortal men shall render an account of 
the deeds done in the body ; and whatever the apprehen- 
sions of such may be concerning this discourse, it was 
written in love, and from a true sense of the present state 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 107 

of things, and time and the event will vindicate it from 
untruth. In the meanwhile, it is matter of great satis- 
faction to the author, that he has so plainly cleared his 
conscience in pleading for the liberty of other men's, and 
publicly borne his honest testimony for God, not out of 
season to his poor country." 

Another tract was, '' A Serious Apology for the Princi- 
ples and Practices of the People called Quakers," in reply 
to the aspersions of Thomas Jenner and Timothy Taylor, 
in their book called " Quakerism Anatomized." 

In explanation of the doctrine of Friends on the subject 
of immediate revelation, we take the following from this 
work : 

" By revelation, we understand the discovery and illumi- 
nation of the light and spirit of God relating to those 
things that properly and immediately concern the daily 
information and satisfaction of our souls in the way of 
our duty to Him and to our neighbor. 

" We renounce all fantastical and whimsical intoxica- 
tions, or any pretence to the revelation of new matter in 
opposition to the ancient Gospel declared by Christ Jesus 
and his apostles ; and therefore not the revelation of 
new things, but the renewed revelation of the eternal 
way of Truth." 

On the subject of the primary rule of life, he says : 

''Methinks this, our demonstration, should satisfy all ; 
when neither man nor Scriptures are near us, yet there 
continually attends us that Spirit of Truth which imme- 
diately informs us of our thoughts, words, and deeds, and 
gives us true directions what to do and what to leave 
undone. Is not this the rule of life ? If ye are led by 



108 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the spirit of God, then arc ye" sons of God. Lot this suf- 
fice to vindicate our sense of a true and unerring rule, 
which we assert not in a way of derogation from those 
holy writings, which with reverence we read, believe, and 
desire always to obey the mind and will of God therein 
contained ; and let that doctrine be accursed that would 
overturn them." 

To the charge that Friends were displeased with others 
for observing times, days, and hours, he says : 

"As to consecrated days and times, and the supersti- 
tious observation of them, as if the holiness of the day 
called loudly on us for our particular devotion, as being 
this or the other saints', and not that our devotion rather 
required a time to be performed in ; this we are displeased 
with, and boldly testify against, as beggarly and Jewish, 
What said the apostle, urged by his godly jealousy, to the 
Galatians? But now after ye have known God, or rather 
are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and 
beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in 
bondage ? Ye observe days and months, and times and 
years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you 
labor in vain." 

" Though we utterly renounce all special and moral 
holiness in times and days, yet we both believe it requisite 
that time be set apart for the worship of the Almighty, 
and are also everywhere found in the diligent practice of 
the same. And howbeit we cannot own so strict an insti- 
tution as to sabbatize the First day, or that it has any 
holiness inherent to it ; yet, as taking tl e primitive saints 
for an cxami^le, with godly reverence we constantly as- 
semble upon it. 



OF WIT>LIAM PENN. 109 

"His charg-c of our denying family duties is equally 
false with all the rest; for we know it is our duty, and 
it is also our practice, to retire from our external affairs 
and wait upon the Lord every day, that wc may receive 
strength from Ilim, and feel his heavenly peace and bless- 
ing to descend upon us at our rising up and lying down ; 
that so to Him, over and above all visible things, honor and 
praise may be returned, who is worthy forever." 

In the sixth chapter he says : 

'' I am constrained, for the sake of the simple-hearted, 
to publish to the world, of our faith in God, Christ, and 
the Holy Spirit. 

" We do believe in one only holy God Almighty, who 
is an eternal Spirit, the Creator of all things. 

"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, his only son, and ex- 
press image of his substance, who took upon Him flesh 
and was in the world ; and in life, doctrine, miracles, 
death, resurrection, ascension, and mediation, perfectly 
did, and does continue to do, the will of God; to whose 
holy lile, power, mediation, and blood we only ascribe our 
sanctification, justification, redemption, and perfect sal- 
vation. 

"And we believe in one Holy Spirit that proceeds and 
breathes from the Father and the Son, a measure of which 
is given to all to profit with ; and he that has one has all ; 
for those Three are One, who is the Alpha and Omega, 
the First and the Last, God over all, blessed forever. 
Amen." 

In these employments of his pen the time of his cor- 
finement passed away, and at the ex})iration of the six 
months he was released. It appears that soon after, he 
10 



110 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

visited Holland and some parts of Germany, in the capacity 
of a minister of the Gospel ; but of these labors or the fruits 
of them we have no particular account. 

In the spring of this year, King Charles issued a proc- 
lamation, suspending the execution of all the penal laws 
against non-conformists. This act is attributed, by his- 
torians, to a wish to favor the Roman Catholics, and was 
considered as a stretch of prerogative. Its practical effect, 
however, was very favorable to Friends — near five hundred 
of them — who had been imprisoned upon a praemunire, and 
some who had been detained several years, being set at 
liberty, and the rage of persecution was checked for a time. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. Ill 



VII. 

IN the beginning of 1012, being then in the twenty-eighth 
year of his age, William Penn was married to Gulielma 
Maria Springett, the daughter of Sir William Springett, 
who lost his life in the war between the king and Parlia- 
ment, in the time of Charles I. His widow was after- 
wards married to Isaac Penington. While this daughter 
was yet young the family were convinced of the principles 
of Friends, and became valuable members of the Society. 
She was beautiful in person, highly accomplished, of great 
sweetness of disposition combined with natural dignity, 
and much esteemed for her piety and benevolence. After 
their marriage they took up their residence at Rickmans- 
worth, in Hertfordshire. 

His marriage, and the consequent cares of a family, did 
not prevent the exercise of his ministerial gift ; for, besides 
the attendance of meetings in his own neighborhood, he- 
visited Friends in the course of the year in Kent, Sussex, 
and Surrey. He closes his narrative of the journey in the 
following manner : 

" The Lord sealed up our labors and travels according 
to the desire of my soul and spirit with his heavenly re- 
freshments and sweet living power and word of life, unto 
the reaching of all, and consoling our own hearts abun- 
dantly. Thus hath the Lord been with us in all our travels 



112 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

for his Truth, and with his blessings of peace are we re- 
turned, which is a reward beyond all worldly treasures." 

The sunshine of royal indulgence soon brought from 
their places of retreat some of those dissenters who kept 
out of sight while the storm was spreading its rage on the 
heads of others. The persecuting laws, which, together 
with the barbarous manner of their execution, have stamped 
an indelible stigma upon the reign of Charles II., were 
probably designed by their authors to crush the Presby- 
terians and Independents on account of their political 
opposition to the dominant party. Yet, as the religion of 
many of these people was more pliable than that embraced 
by William Penn and his fellow-professors, the burden of 
persecution fell principally, though not wholly, on the 
latter. Their unflinching support of their religious meet- 
ings, and their constant refusal to take the oaths required 
of them, furnished employment and plunder for the harpies 
of the 'aw. Besides, as it was vain to expect a general 
conformity to the religion of the court among the dissenters 
at large while there was one society which openly refused 
to mould its doctrines or worship to the opinions of the 
Episcopal church, the principal efforts of the established 
clergy appear to have been directed to their suppression, 
from a conviction that, if they were once removed out of 
the way, the other dissenters would be likely to yield with 
more facility. 

But, while they thus weathered the storm and sheltered 
the heads of other dissenters, the firmness and faithfulness 
of Friends carried conviction to the minds of many re- 
ligiously disposed persons of that day, who were induced 
to abandon the societies to which they belonged,. and unite 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 113 

in fellowship with them. This sometimes roused the zeal 
of their former teachers, and occasioned repeated attacks 
upon the principles and characters of Friends. 

To answer these attacks gave William Penn much em- 
ployment during the first year of his residence at Rick- 
mansworth. Among others, John Faldo, an Independent 
teacher near Barnet, finding that some of his hearers had 
united with Friends, wrote a book entitled "Quakerism 
no Christianity." William Penn's replies to this and two 
succeeding attacks from the same source cover more than 
two hundred pages in the folio edition of his writings. 

He lays down the doctrine, that although it pleased God, 
at the opening of the Christian dispensation, to send his 
Son a light into the world, yet He was in degree spirit- 
ually manifested in all ages as the Word of God nigh in 
the heart, and that they who believed in and obeyed Him 
obtained remission of sins and eternal salvation. Thus 
Christ was the rock which followed Israel, and whose day 
Abraham saw and was glad. That Christianity is not a 
mere historical belief of the outward acts which Christ 
performed in his bodily appearance, but a firm belief in 
Him that so appeared, had died, rose, and ascended, both 
as testified in the Scriptures of Truth and as He breaks 
in upon the soul by his divine discoveries, as the true light 
enlightening every man. 

The testimony of Friends to the divine light or mani- 
festation of the spirit of Jesus Christ in the soul, having 
been made an occasion to charge them with denying his 
outward manifestation, the falsehood of this charge is 
proved, and it is shown, that the latter being universally 
admitted, while the former was either overlooked or de- 
10* H 



114 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

nied by many of the professors of Christianity, Friends 
have been specially called to bear testimony to the inward 
and spiritual appearance of Christ to the soul, a measure 
of whose spirit is given to all, reproving the unfruitful 
works of darkness and leading to a true knowledge of the 
way of life and salvation. 

In the Fourth month, 1673, we find William Penn, in 
company with his wife and George Whitehead, attending 
the meetings of Friends at Bristol ; but of this journey 
no particular account remains. 

His time appears to have been chiefly occupied in writ- 
ing ; and, indeed, the works produced by his pen in this 
and the following year were quite enough to engross the 
time of a man of ordinary industry. 

Thomas Hicks, a preacher among the Baptists of Lon- 
don, was among the number of those who labored to ren- 
der the Society of Friends and the principles which they 
held odious in the sight of the people of that day. He 
publi^ed a pamphlet, called " A Dialogue between a 
Christian and a Quaker," so artfully managed that an in- 
cautious reader might readily suppose this pretended dia- 
logue a real one. Having both sides of the controversy 
to manage, he took care to make his pseudo-Quaker talk in 
a very weak and ridiculous manner, and utter opinions 
grossly erroneous and objectionable. 

The controversy in writing which followed between him 
and William Penn led to a public meeting, by agreement 
with the Baptists, in their houso at Barbican, London. 
The principal disputants on the siile of the Baptists were 
Thomas Hicks and Jeremy Ives, and on the part of Friends, 
William Penn, George Whitehead, and George Keith. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 115 

II may perhaps be interesting to some readers to see a 
specimen of the manner in which the opponents o: Friends 
m that day attempted to unchristianize the Society. The 
prevaih'ng mode of conducting polemic discussions at that 
time was to reduce the propositions which were intended 
to be established into syllogisms, and much of the skill 
displayed in argument consisted in the facility of reduc- 
ing propositions to that form. 

Thomas Hicks appears to have commenced the dispqte 
with this argument : 

They that deny the Lord's Christ are no Christians. 

But the Quakers deny the Lord's Christ. 

Therefore they are no Christians. 

To this William Penn returned, " I deny the minor, 
viz., that the Quakers deny the Lord's Christ." 

Thomas Hicks replied, they that deny Christ to be a 
distinct person without them deny the Lord's Christ ; 
but the Quakers deny Christ to be a distinct person 
without them, therefore the Quakers deny the Lord's 
Christ. 

William Penn then desired that Thomas Hicks would 
explain what he meant by the term person ; to which he 
answered that he meant the man Christ Jesus. William 
Penn t&en replied, " I deny the minor, viz., that we deny 
the man Christ Jesus." 

Thomas Hicks replied, " I prove that ye deny the man 
Christ Jesus : one of your writers asserts that Christ was 
never seen with carnal eyes nor heard with carnal ears." 
From which Jeremy Ives f 'amed a syllogism : " He that 
denies that Christ was ever seen with canal eyes denies 
the Lord's Christ ; but the Quakers deny that Christ was 



116 PASSAGES FllOM THE LIFE 

ever seen with carnal eyes, therefore the Quakers deny 
the Lord's Christ." 

George Keith then replied that Christ, as God, was 
never seen with carnal eyes, but as man He was. 

William Penn explained the subject by stating, that 
wicked men might see Him in his bodily appearance, and 
yet not see Him to be the Christ of God. They might 
see his manhood, but not his Christship. This was illus- 
trated by the declaration of our Lord to Peter, when he had 
acknowledged Him to be the Christ, the Son of the living 
God, viz., " Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, 
but my Father which is in heaven." Hence, he inferred 
that Peter could not with a carnal eye have seen the 
Lord's Christ, much less could wicked men. 

Jeremy Ives then asked, " Is the manhood a part of the 
Lord's Christ?" 

To this William Penn returned the inquiry, " Is this to 
prove the charge of our denying the Lord Christ? It 
seems we must be here to be catechised, and ye will not 
answer us one question, yet I shall answer Jeremy Ives's 
question if he will promise to answer mine." Jeremy 
Ives promising that he would, William Penn replied, that 
they believed that holy manhood to be a member of the 
Christ of God ; and then directing his discourse to Jeremy 
Ives, he asked, " Was He the Christ of God before He was 
manifest in the flesh ? " " He was," returned Jeremy Ives, 
''the Son of God." But to the question as stated by 
William Penn, he would not answer. His silence in that 
case was attributed to the prevalence of Socinian opinions 
among them, which William Penn probably designed to 
make him acknowledge or deny. But he was too cautious 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 117 

to do either. William Peim adduced, in proof of the 
affirmative of his own question, the dcclai-ation of the 
apostle, " They all drank of that spiritual Rock that 
followed them, and that Rock was Christ." 

There is extant the fragment of a letter written by 
William Penn to George Fox on this occasion, which 
further illustrates the character and importance of the 
public religious discussions of those days. '' Thy fatherly 
love," says he, "and tender care I do with all gentleness 
and true respect receive ; but thou shalt understand the 
occasion of our answer, wherein we stated that ' the holy 
manhood was a member of the Christ of God,' 

" The question was, ' If the manhood were a part of 
Christ ? ' To this we must either have answered nothing, 
or only a Scripture, or in the terms of the question, or as 
we did. 

''If we had answered nothing, we had gratified the 
enemy, stumbled the moderate, and grieved friends. 

'' If a Scripture, it had been no way satisfactory ; for 
the question, they would have said, was not about the 
text, but about the understanding of it ; and they would 
have charged us with so wresting it to a mystical sense, 
as to shut out the person that appeared in the flesh. 

" Further, if we had answered in the terms of the 
question, we had taken Christ into parts, whereas I cried 
twice to them, 'Christ is not to be divided into parts.' 
But they still pressed the question, six thousand people I 
believe, being present, and many of them were desirous 
of an answer. Upon this Friends consented that it should 
be answered them, ' that the manhood was a part of Christ.' 
But I feared the word part, and chose rather to say that 



118 PASSAGES FliOM THE LIFE 

WO believed the holy manhood to be a member of the Christ 
of God, iiiid my reasons for so doing were these : First. 
What needed we to grant more than was asked ? Friends 
only desired to have us grant that the manhood was a 
part of Christ, in order to overthrow T. Hieks's attempts 
to prove us no Christians ; and that was of so great 
moment in that solemn and great assembly, as tongue 
cannot utter. Secondly, Since we were willing to go no 
further in our confessions than they asked at our hands, 
this was my reas m for rejecting the word part for member, 
to wit, that a boily may be taken into members without 
breach of union, but not into parts. A member divides 
not; parts divide. Christ is called the head, that is, the 
most noble member, the Church the body, and particulars 
are styled members of that body. Now calling these 
members divides them not into parts. Thirdly, I did not 
say it was but a member, and I often repeated that it was 
of and belonging to Christ, and in my confession at the 
close I said, that we believed in Christ, both as He was the 
man Jesus, and God over all blessed forever. 

*' But, blessed be the Lord I I have not sought to compre- 
hend or imagine ; but as I am furnished upon the occasion 
so it goes. I value the invisible touches and fooling of 
heavenly virtue and life beyond it all, nor am I delighted 
with these matters ; but, dear George, I confess I never 
heard any Friend speak so fully as to Christ's manhood as 
thyself. I think so much in print in our name as a people 
would remove much prejudice, and the contest would come 
more to power against power, than words against words. 
And this I must needs say, wc have been as poor tossed 
sheep up and down, much abused, vilified and l)olied ; but 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 119 

over all God is raising the strong horn of his salvation ; 
and lie has mag-nified his name in all these bustles and 
stirs ; and truth has manifestly gotten ground, and in no 
one thing more than our plain confessions of Christ; so 
much had the devil roosted and nestled himself in them 
under their misapprehensions of our words in that par- 
ticular ; and if any weakness attended the phrasing of it, 
I hope and believe the simplicity in which it was delivered 
will hide it from the evil watcher." 

From the narrative of this controversy, two inferences 
may be fairly deduced : first. That the only tenable ground 
upon which the opponents of the early Friends at- 
tempted to divest them of the Christian character was the 
greater spirituality of their doctrines. And, second, That 
while they faithfully and fearlessly maintained their testi- 
mony to the spiritual nature of the Christian religion, and 
rejected the gross and carnal constructions so generally 
given to the declarations of our Lord and his apostles, 
they never refined away the plain and obvious truths 
which the sacred volume contains. They in fact adhered 
very closely to the letter as well as to the spirit of the 
Holy Scriptures. 

Alexander Parker, one of the early members and min- 
isters of the Society, had published, about the year lG5t, 
a tract, entitled a " Testimony of the Light within," of 
which Samuel Grevill, a priest near Banbury, wrote a 
pretended refutation. The doctrine thus assailed, being 
one of great importance, and, indeed, lying at the founda- 
tion of the testimony which Friends believed themselves 
called to support, William Penn produced a pamphlet en- 
titled " Urim and Thummim, or the doctrines of Lig'ht 



120 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

and perfection maintained," proving from Scripture tes- 
timony that the witness for God in the n ind of man is 
the light of Christ, the true light which lighteth every 
man that cometh into the world, and that this light not 
only discovers to us what is sinful, but is sufficient, as it is 
followed and obeyed, to lead out of all sin into the glori- 
ous liberty of the children of God. He lays it down as 
the reason why many of the professors of religion deny 
the sufficiency of this Divine light or Holy Spirit, to lead 
into entire redemption and to the knowledge of God, whom 
to know is life eternal, that they have known it only as a 
reprover, and have not, for want of obedience, experienced 
the salvation from sin and death to which it leads ; and 
admonishes his readers to try the effect of obedience to its 
small and tender appearances, before they object to its 
nature or sufficiency. 

The controversies in which William Penn had been 
hitherto engaged, wore with persons of other religious 
persuasions ; but at the time to which we are now ar- 
rived, he was drawn into a contest with some who pro- 
fessed to hold the same fundamental doctrines as he did. 
The prime mover in this controversy was John Perot, a 
man who had joined the Society of Friends, who appears 
to have possessed more imagination than judgment, and 
much higher opinion of himself than his attainments, 
natural or spiritual, justified. Imagining himself commis- 
sioned to convert the pope, he procured a man of the name 
of John Luff to accompany him on this embassy. Arriv- 
ing at Rome, they were soon arrested and cast into prison. 
John Luff was confined in the inquiiition, where he di(3d, 
not without circumstances exciting the opinion that ho 



OF WILLIAM PENN". 121 

was privately murdered. John Perot was committed to 
the bedlam, from whence he occasionally found means to 
transmit letters to England for publication, expressed in 
the apostolic style, signing himself "John," without sur- 
name. After being a considerable time in confinement, 
his release was procured by the solicitation of some of his 
friends, and he soon afterwards returned to England. The 
report of his suiferings at Home, which common fame had 
exaggerated, united to the appearance of unusual sanctity, 
gave him more place than he deserved in the minds of 
some well meaning, but not very judicious, Friends. Mis- 
taking the suggestions of his own misguided imagination 
for the indications of the Divine Spirit, he declaimed 
against the practice of taking off the hat in time of 
prayer as a piece of formality, inconsistent with the spirit- 
uality of the Christian religion, unless they felt themselves 
divinely required so to do. And a number of the less ex- 
perienced Friends were carried away with his notions, and 
adopted his practice. 

As Friends had always considered the uncovering of 
the head, when they approach the Supreme Being in 
prayer, as an external sign of the homage due to Him, 
and of the reverence with which they engage in that sol- 
emn act, George Fox labored to convince those Friends 
who had fallen into it, of the impropriety of this unseemly 
practice, and with such success that most of them acknowl- 
edged their error, and united with their more experienced 
brethren. John Perot, however, was too confident, or too 
obstinate, to change his course, and was at length disowned 
by the Society. 

After his disownment, a pamphlet was published, with 
11 



122 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

out the name of the author, but attributed to hhu, with 
the title of ''The Spirit of the Hat," to which William 
Penn wrote a reply, with the curious title of "The spirit 
of Alexander the coppersmith justly rebuked." Shortly 
after the appearance of the latter, a second anonymous 
pamphlet, under the title of "Tyranny and Hypocrisy de- 
tected," was given to the world. This came out under the 
character of a reply to "The spirit of Alexander the cop- 
persmith rebuked ; " and like the former, was understood 
to be the work of John Perot. It drew a rejoinder from 
William Penn, which he styled " Judas and the Jews com- 
bined against Christ and his followers." 

This controversy assumes a degree of importance, which 
it would not otherwise possess, from Uig principles in- 
volved in it. This anonymous writer took the ground, 
that those who refused to uncover their heads at the time 
of prayer, were led to this practice by the light of Truth 
in their own minds, and that a requisition, on the part of 
other Friends, of a conformity to the usages of the So- 
ciety in this respect, was an abridgment of their Chris- 
tian liberty. William Penn states the doctrine as unques- 
tionably true, that the Divine light is universal and 
sufficient to lead to salvation, and that every man ought 
to follow its teachings in matters of faith and worship. 
The dispute between them was not in regard to the prin- 
ciple, but to its application. The following questions are 
laid down as including the matter at issue : 

1. Whether Christ has or has not given to his church, 
consisting of faithful believers and obedient walkers by 
the light or spirit of God within, a just sense, relish, and 
savor of those spirits which the great enemy of man may 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 123 

assume, mder plausible appearances, to condemn what the 
church has practised, or to introduce what the church has 
condemned ? 

2. Whether such a society, body, or church, may not, 
after due admonition given to such dissenting or innova- 
ting person, lawfully and without deviation from Chris- 
tian principles, deny their communion to such person or 
persons, as a testimony against the spirit by which they 
are actuated ? 

3. Whether such person or persons may acknowledge 
the truth of this fundamental doctrine of the Divine light 
as a leader and guide, and yet be actuated by a wrong 
spirit to the production of rents and divisions, and then 
oppose the church under pretence of being guided by this 
inward light ; and consequently whether such persons 
ought to be judged by any for acting in this manner, see- 
ing it is the duty of all to act according to the dictates of 
the light of Christ? 

4. Whether the body of those called Quakers or their 
opposers were that church ? 

In answer to the first, it is shown that such a power of 
discernment does belong to the true church, from various 
passages in Scripture. 

The second is also answered affirmatively, both from the 
testimony of Scripture and the reasonableness of the case. 

In regard to the third question, it is stated that men 
may acknowledge and believe the doctrine of the inward 
light of Christ, and yet mistake the suggestions of their 
own dark imaginations for the leadings of this divine 
light : and yet neither the profession nor the belief of 
being guided by it, can exempt those who are not really 



VIA PASSAGES FROM THK LIFE 

led by it, from the just judgment of those who nro. If the 
more profession of being led by the spirit of Trulh eould 
exonerate those who are strangers to it from the judgmei.t 
and oensure of sueh as aetually walk in the Spirit, a door 
would be opened to all kinds of libertinism. Though it is 
tl.e duty of all to walk iii the light, and to wait for it, that 
by it they may be instructed in the way of life and salva- 
tion, yet it is they only who are actually led by it, that 
can rightly discern between the false spirits and the true. 

The fourth question was one upon which the ajiplica- 
lion of the principles laid down in the answers to the 
former three essentially depended. Whether the body of 
those who were called Quakers, or the few who were 
joined with John Perot, \vere the true church, acting 
under the influence of the divine light ? Though the 
number of those who adhered to John Perot appears to 
have borne a very small proportion to the number of 
those who discarded his notions, yet our author does not 
build any part of his argument on this basis. He raises 
it on a much more solid foundation. 

According to the concessions of John Perot, the Society 
at one time was a true church, with a living and powerful 
ministry ; among w^hom the everlasting Gospel was 
preached, and by which the church was greatly in- 
creased. Now% as the dissatisfoction of John Perot and 
his party did not arise from any change in the principles 
or practice of the Society, but grew out of their own in- 
novations, the Society was the same church still, but they 
were not the same members. Harmony prevailed, and 
religious refreshnu^nt was experienced among them, till 
the innovation of keeping on the hat in the time of public 



OF WILT.TAM PENX. 125 

prayer was attempted. The change of character must, 
therefore, be attributed to those who had adopted thi.i 
innovation, and not to those who refused it. 

Besides the works already mentioned, he wrote, in the 
course of this year, several letters of a religious character, 
which are still extant. 

One to Justice Fleming, deputy lieutenant of West- 
moreland, who, it appears, had used considerable severity 
towards Friends in that county. In this letter he says : 

" The obligation which thy civility laid upon the person 
who is now my wife, when in the north in 1664, is, with 
her being so, become mine. Not'to acknowledge, though 
I could never retaliate it, were a rudeness I have not 
usually been guilty of ; for, however differing I am from 
other men circa sacra, that is, relative to religious mat- 
ters, and to that world which, respecting men, may be 
said to begin when this ends, I know no religion which 
destroys courtesy, civility, and kindness. These, rightly 
understood, are great indications of true men, if not of 
good Christians." And a little further on he adds: ''That 
way is but a bad way of making Christians, which destroys 
their constitutions as men." He then in plain but respect- 
ful terms pointed out the folly as well as injustice of at- 
tempting to change the opinions of men by the application 
of force. 

The declaration of indulgence to those who dissented 
from the established church, which was issued by the 
king in 16T1, was not long permitted to pass unopposed. 
From the character of the reigning monarch, and the 
measures of the court, it was inferred that this act of 
indulgence was not designed for the relief of Protestant 
11* 



126 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

dissenters, so much as the protection of Roman Catholics; 
and, at all events, it was obviously an assumption of 
power under the character of the royal prerogative, which 
excited the jealousy even of those who would have gladly 
obtained the same indulgence in a constitutional way. The 
Parliament which met in 1613 complained of this suspen- 
sion of the penal laws by the dispensing power of the 
crown, as one of the grievances to be redressed ; and 
having the power of granting or withholding supplies, 
they used it in this case, so that their prodigal and needy 
monarch revoked his proclamation and broke the seals 
with his own hands. 

Though the Parliament was then composed of men 
rather more favorable to toleration than in the early part 
of Charles II. 's reign, yet, when the declaration of indul- 
gence was revoked, no effectual measures were adopted to 
secure a legal toleration, and therefore the persecuting 
bigots of the day availed themselves of that revocation to 
revive the Conventicle Act, and to renew the oppression 
of conscientious dissenters. These unrighteous proceed- 
ings soon attracted the attention of our author, and fur- 
nished employment for his pen through a considerable 
part of the year 16t4. 

Some justices of the peace in Middlesex having used an 
unexpected degree of harshness towards Friends who had 
assembled at a meeting in their neighborhood, at which, 
it appears, he was present, he addressed a respectful letter 
to them, forcibly appealing to their own understandings 
against the persecuting measures to which they had given 
countenance. 

In that letter he. assumed the ground that the king's 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 127 

dtclaration of indulgence was revoked, not because there 
was any objection to its principles, but on account of the 
manner of the grant. He further urged that the kingdom 
was then undisturbed, that there was consequently no just 
cause for the execution of such laws, and that when the 
reason of a law had ceased, the law itself became obsolete 
without a formal repeal ; and that it was very questionable 
whether the law by which Protestants were burnt for their 
opposition to the church of Rome had ever been repealed. 
Laws, he observed, were either fundamental, and therefore 
permanent, or enacted upon particular emergencies, and to 
expire of themselves when the cause of their enactment 
had passed away. He says : " We came not to our liber- 
ties and properties by the Protestant religion ; their date 
rises higher. Why, then, should a non-conformity to it 
deprive us of them ? The nature of body and soul, earth 
and heaven, this world and that to come, differs. There 
can be no reason to persecute any man in this world about 
anything that belongs to the next. Who art thou (saith 
the Holy Scripture) that judgeth another man's servant ? 
He must stand or fall to his master, the great God. Le*-. 
tares and wheat grow together till the great harvest. 

** Be pleased to remember that faith is the gift of God ; 
and what is not of faith is sin. We must either be hyp- 
ocrites in doing what we believe in our consciences we 
ought not to do, or forbearing what we are fully persuaded 
we ought to do. 

" Either give us better faith or leave us with such as we 
have, for it seems unreasonable in you to disturb us for this 
that we have, and yet be unable to give us any other." 

" I am well assured it shall less repent you upon your 



128 PASSAGES FROM THE LTFF 

dying bed, to have acted moderately than severely. 
You cannot but know how fallible Protestants acknowl- 
edge themselves to be in matters of relio:ion, and, conse- 
quently, with what caution they should proceed against 
any about religion." "I love and honor all virtuous 
persons that differ from me, and hope God will have regard 
to every such one, according to his sincerity. And, how- 
ever it shall please you to deal with us at. this or any other 
time, I pray God to forgive you, open your eyes, tender 
your hearts, and make you sensible how much more 
moderation and virtue are worth your study and pursuit 
than the disturbance of religious dissenting assemblies, 
that, so far as I know of them, desire to honor the king, 
love their neighbors as themselves, and do unto all men 
as they would have all men do unto them." 

A passage from the fragment of autobiography pub- 
lished by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, relates 
to this period of William Penn's life. 

" The third time I came to court was in "73, having not 
frequented it for five years. The business that drew me 
thither was the imprisonment of that servant of God, my 
worthy friend George Fox, in Worcester Castle ; the cause, 
worshipping God after another manner than that of the 
Church of England ; and lest it should prove too feeble a 
tie to hold him, the justices of the peace that had laid his 
commitment officiously tendered him the oaths of allegi- 
ance and supremacy, not that he should take them, but 
because they were pretty sure he would not take them, 
as a supplemental snare to gratify their humor and accom- 
plish their design against him. This ending in a praemu- 
nire, and finding no applications in the country were likely 



O F W I L L T A ]\r P E X N . 1 29 

to su("crc(l for his deliverance out of the hands of some 
very angry, obstinate persons, it was resolved amongst us 
at London to remove him by habeas corpus to the King's 
Bench, and try what we could do at the court to procure 
his discharge. 

"It fell to my lot to go on this errand, in which solici- 
tation William Mead accompanied me. 

"After something I said as an introduction to the busi- 
ness, I delivered the Duke of York our request. He pe- 
rused it, and then told us * that he was against all perse- 
cution for the sake of religion. That it was true he had, 
in his younger time, been warm, especially when he thought 
people made it a pretence to disturb government, but that 
he had seen and considered things better, and he was for 
doing to others as he would have others do unto him ; 
and he thought it would be happy for the world if all 
were of that mind; for he was sure,' he said, ' that no 
man was willing to be persecuted himself for his own 
conscience.' He added that ' he looked upon us as a quiet, 
industrious people, and though he was not of our judg- 
ment, yet he liked our good lives,' with much more to the 
same purpose, promising he would speak to his brother, 
and doubted not but that the king's counsel would have 
orders in our friend's favor. 

"I and my companion spoke, as occasion offered, to 
recommend both our business and our character, but the 
less because he prevented us in the manner I have ex- 
pressed. 

" When he had done upon this affair, he was pleased to 
lake a very particular notice of me, both for the relation 
my father had had to his service in the navy, and the 

I 



130 PASSAGES FUOM THE LIFE 

care he had promised him to show in ray regard upon all 
occasions. 

" That he wondered I had not been with him, and that 
whenever I had any business thither he Avould order that 
I should have access ; after which he withdrew, and we 
returned. 

" This was my first visit to the court after five years' 
retirement, and this the success of it, and the first time I 
had spoken with him since '65. That it should be grateful 
to me was no wonder ; and, perhaps, that with some was 
the beginning of my faults at. court." 

The following letter to George Fox was written soon 
after the interview above related : 

" Dear George Fox : — Thy dear and tender love in thy 
last letter I received, and for thy business thus : a great 
lord, a man of noble mind, did as good as put himself in 
a loving way to get thy liberty. He prevailed with the 
king for a pardon, but that we rejected. Then he prcst 
for a more noble release, that better answered truth. He 
prevailed, and got the king's hand to a release. It sticks 
with the Lord Keeper, and we have used, and do use, what 
interest we can. The king is angry with him (the Lord 
Keeper), and promiseth very largely and lovingly ; so 
that, if we have been deceived, thou seest the grounds of 
it. But we have sought after a writ of error these ten 
days past, wcllnigh resolving to be as sure as we can ; 
and an habeas corpus is gone or will go to-morrow night. 
My dear love salutes thee and thy dear wife. Things are 
brave as to Truth in these parts ; great conviction upon 
the people. My wife's dear love is to you all. I long 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 131 

and hope erelong to see thee. So, dear George Fox, 
am, etc., 

William Penn." 

George Fox having been brought by a writ of habeas 
corpus before the Court of the King's Bench, Sir Matthew 
Hale discharged him by proclamation. 

Persecution now raging with nearly as much violence 
as ever, the envious magistrates frequently resorted to 
their old expedient. When Friends were brought before 
them, and could not be convicted of any offence, they 
tendered the oath of allegiance to them ; and upon their 
refusing to swear, they were subjected to the extremely 
severe penalties designed for an entirely different class of 
people. 

To evince to the world that they had substantial reasons 
for refusing to swear, William Penn, in 16*75, published a 
treatise on oaths, which was addressed to the king and 
Parliament. The author first shows the reason of oaths 
to be the degeneracy of man from primitive integrity ; 
and fortifies his opinion by the testimony of a number of 
ancient writers. He then assigns various reasons why a 
Christian ought not to swear. 

"As oaths originate in perfidy, they ought to be ex- 
cluded by a religion that establishes integrity, and therefore 
takes away the reason of them. 

" They abolish the distinction between men of veracity 
and those of loose and perfidious characters. 

" Oaths, by their frequent and familiar use, have lost 
the awful influence which is the alleged reason for their 
continuance. 



132 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

" Those who entertain a. just sense of the omnipresence 
of God have no need of an oath to confine them to the 
truth 

''It is irreverent to appeal to God as a witness on trivial 
occasions. 

" The example and precepts of our Saviour are directly 
opposed to all oaths ; and swearing is contrary to the 
nature and general character of Christianity." 

He cites the testimonies of a great number of the an- 
cient Gentiles and of several Jewish writers in disappro- 
bation of swearing. 

He next gives the declarations of a great number of 
Christian fathers, doctors, martyrs, and early reformers, 
from Pol3^carp to Erasmus, against the lawfulness of 
swearing under the Gospel dispensation. This is followed 
by the opinions of several of the schoolmen and others, 
as Thomas Aquinas, Cajetan, etc., against the use of 
oaths. These authorities, extracted from a number of 
writers, ancient and modern, are no questionable evidence 
of the industry and reading of William Penn. 

But this work, however it might have softened some, 
had not the least influence (such was the religious fury of 
the times) where it was most to be desired. Bigots who 
had power, still continued to abuse it. Persons were 
thrown into gaol, so that parents and their children were 
separated. Cattle were driven away. The widow's cow 
was not even spared. Barns full of corn were seized 
which was threshed out and sold. Household goods were 
distrained, so that even a stool was not left in some cases 
to sit on. These enormities sometimes took place on sus- 
picion only that persons had preached to or attended a 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 133 

conventicle ; and to such length were they carried, that 
even some of those who went only to visit and sit by their 
sick relations, were adjudged to be a company met to pray 
in defiance of the law. William Penn attempted again to 
stem the torrent by a work of another kind. He published 
a treatise under the following title; ''England's present 
interest considered with honor to the Prince and safety to 
the people, in answer to this question, What is most fit, 
easy, and safe at this juncture of affairs to be done for 
quieting differences, allaying the heat of contrary interests, 
and making them subservient to the interest of the govern- 
ment, and consistent with the prosperity of the kingdom ? 
submitted to the consideration of our superiors." 

He answers his question by asserting that the thing 
most fit, safe, and easy to be done, would be a determina- 
tion by the Government, first, upon an inviolable and 
impartial maintenance of English rights ; secondly, upon 
conducting itself so as to act upon a balance, as nearly as 
it could, towards the several religious interests ; and, 
thirdly, upon a sincere promotion of general and practical 
religion. 

" Englishmen," he said, ''had birthrights. The first of 
these consisted of an ownership and undisturbed posses- 
'sion, so that what they had was rightly their own and 
nobody's else, and such possession and ownership related 
both to title and security of estate, and liberty of person 
from the violence of arbitrary power. This was the 
situation of our ancestors in ancient British times. They 
who governed afterwards, the Saxons, made no alteration 
in this law, but confirmed it. The Normans who came 
next did the same. William, at his coronation,, made a 
12 



134 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

solemn covenant to maintain the good, approved, and an- 
citntlawsof the kingdom, and to inhibit all spoil and unjust 
judgment. The same covenant was adopted by his suc- 
cessors, and confirmed by Magna Charta. 

" The second birthright of Englishmen consisted in the 
voting of every law that was made, whereby that owner- 
ship in liberty and property might be maintained." This 
also was the case, as he proved by quotations from laws 
and an appeal to history, in British, Saxon, and Norman 
times. " The third birthright of Englishmen consisted in 
having an influence upon, and a great share in, the judi- 
catory power, so that they were not to be condemned but 
by the votes of freemen. This practice, though not per- 
haps British, obtained very early in Saxon times. It was 
among the laws of Ethelred that in every hundred there 
should be a court where twelve ancient freemen, together 
with the lord of the hundred, should be sworn that they 
would not condemn the innocent or acquit the "guilty. 
The same law continued to be the law of the land under 
different kings till it was violated by John • when Magna 
Charta restored it." Magna Charta, however, he main- 
tained, " was not the nativity, but the restorer of ancient 
English privileges. It was no grant of new rights, but 
only a restorer of the old." 

He then explained the great Charter of England, and 
endeavored to show by an appeal to reason, law, lawyers, 
and facts themselves, that the people of England could not 
be justly disseized of any of these fundamentals. '' Nothing 
could be more unjust than to sacrifice the liberty and prop- 
erty of any man for religion, where he was not found 
breaking- any law which related to natural or civil things. 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 135 

Religion under any modificaticn or church government 
was no part of the old English constitution. * Honeste 
vivcre, alterum non Isedere, jus suum cuique tribuerc,' 
that is, to live honestly, to do no injury to another, and to 
give every man his due, was enough to entitle every native 
to English privileges. It was this, and not his religion 
which gave him the great claim to the protection of the 
government under which he lived. Near three hundred 
years before Austin set his foot on English ground the 
inhabitants had a good constitution. This came not in 
with him. Neither did it come in with Luther ; nor was 
it to go out with Calvin. We were a free people by the 
creation of God, by the redemption of Christ, and by the 
careful provision of our never to be forgotten, honorable 
ancestors ; so that our claim to these English privileges, 
rising higher than Protestantism, could never justly be 
invalidated on account of non-conformity to any tenet or 
fashion it might prescribe. This would be to lose by the 
Reformation, which was effected only that we might enjoy 
property with conscience." 

With respect to the second part of the answer, that is, 
a determination by the Government of conducting itself 
so as to act upon a balance as nearly as it could towards 
the several religious interests, he proved that our Saviour 
prohibited all force in producing an uniformity of religious 
opinion. He says, "many inquisitive men into human 
affairs have thought that the concord of discords hath not 
been the infirmest basis government can stand upon. Less 
sedition and disturbance attended Hannibal's army that 
consisted of many nations, than the Roman legions that 
were of one people." "It is not probable that a master in 



136 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 

a family should have his work so well done, who smiles 
upon one servant and frowns upon the rest." " It is not 
the interest of governors to blow coals in their own 
country, especially when it is to consume their own 
people, and it may be themselves, too." Again: ''Such 
conduct not only makes them enemies, but there is no 
such excitement to revenge as a raped conscience. Whether 
the ground of a man's religious dissent be rational or not, 
severity is unjustifiable with him ; for it is a maxim with 
sufferers, that, whoever is in the wrong, the persecutor 
cannot be in the right. Men not conscious to themselves 
of evil, and hardly treated, not only resent it unkindly, 
but are bold to show it." 

The last chapter is on the sincere promotion of general 
and practical religion. He says: "General, true, and 
requisite religion is to visit the widow and fatherless, and 
to keep ourselves, through the universal grace, unspotted 
of the world. This is the most easy and probable way 
to fetch in all men professing God and religion, since 
every persuasion acknowledges this in words." " All pre- 
tend to make this their corner-stone ; let them be equally 
encouraged to square their building by it." 

" No one thing is more unaccountable and condemnable 
among men than their uncharitable contests about religion, 
indeed, about words and phrases, while they all verbally 
meet in the most, if not only, necessary part of the Chris- 
tian religion ; for nothing is more certain than that if men 
would but live up to one-half of what they know in their 
consciences they ought to practise, their edge would be 
taken off, their blood would be sweetened by mercy and 
truth, and this unnatural sharpness qualified. They would 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 137 

quickl)' find work enough at home ; each man's hands 
would be full by the unruliness of his own passions and 
in subjecting his own will, instead of devouring one an- 
other's good name, liberty, or estate. Compassion would 
rise, and mutual desires to be assistant to each other in a 
better sort of living. Oh, how delightful it would be to 
see mankind, the creation of one God, that hath upheld 
them to this day, of one accord, at least in the weighty 
things of God's holy law." 

" A promotion of general religion, which being in itself 
practical, brings back ancient virtue. Good living will 
thrive in this soil ; men will grow honest, trusty, and 
temxperate. We may expect good neighborhood and cor- 
dial friendship. Men will be more industrious, which will 
increase our manufactures ; set the idle and poor to work 
for their livelihood, and enable the several countries with 
more ease and decency to maintain the aged and impotent. 

"It is out of this nursery of virtue men should be 
drawn to be planted in the government ; not what is their 
opinion, but what is their manners and capacity. Here 
the field is large, and the magistrate has room to choose 
good officers for the public good. Heaven will prosper so 
natural, so noble, and so Christian an essay." 

In the same year he wrote a remarkable letter to two 
Protestant w^omen of rank in Germany. One of them was 
the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick Y., Prince 
Palatine of the Rhine and King of Bohemia, and grand- 
daughter of James I. of England. The other was Anna 
Maria, Countess of Homes, the friend and companion of 
Elizabeth. They were both religious w^omen, and the 
princess had manifested her liberality by affording an 
12* 



138 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

asylum in her dominions to persons who were persecuted 
for religion. The Princess Elizabeth was distinguished 
for her learning as well as for her benevolence. Her 
attachment to her Protestant belief had led her when 
quite young to reject the offer of ma.rriage to the King of 
Poland. She was now in her fifty-sixth year. William 
Penn speaks of her as " choosing a single life as the freest 
from care, and best suited to study and meditation. 
Though she kept no sumptuous table in her own court, 
she spread the tables of the poor in their solitary cells, 
breaking bread to virtuous pilgrims according to their 
want and her ability. Abstemious in herself, and in 
apparel void of all vain ornaments." Robert Barclay and 
Benjamin Furly, when travelling in Germany in the ser- 
vice of the Gospel, had paid them a visit and were favora- 
bly received. This visit gave the princess such a knowledge 
of the principles of Friends, and so favorable an opinion of 
them, that hearing about this time of the imprisonment of 
Robert Barclay, she wrote to her brother. Prince Rupert, 
soliciting him to use his influence with the king to pre- 
vent or mitigate the severity with which he was threatened. 

The letter of William Penn, which is of great length, 
begins as follows : 

" Noble of this world, but more noble for your inquiry 
after the Truth and love to it, the fame whereof hath 
sounded to the ears of some of us in this island. I have 
had you, worthy women, often in my remembrance, with 
that honor which is not of this world; even when my 
soul has been in its purest retirements, not only from all 
visibles, but from their very ideas in the mind, and every 
other imagination ; resting with the Lord in his own sab- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 139 

bath,, which is the true silence of all flesh indeed, which 
profits above the formal Christian's bodily exercise. And 
in these heavenly sequestrations of soul, and true resigna- 
tion unto the divine will of my Father, have I taken a 
most clear prospect of you, and every circumstance that 
may be fit for me to know : your education, your quality, 
your dignity, the envy of the clergy, the fury of the rab- 
ble, and the strength and power of temptation, arising 
from all these considerations, if possible to smother your 
blessed beginnings ; and as so many bands of soldiers, 
employed and commissioned of their great prince of dark- 
ness, to w^atch and to hinder Jesus from rising in you. 
In a weighty sense of all which my heart opens itself 
unto you in God's counsel, after this manner. 

" Be faithful to what you know, and obedient to that 
which God, by the light of his Son, makes manifest in 
vour consciences. Consult not away the pure and gentle 
strivings of the Holy Ghost; drowm not his still voice 
with the crowd of careful thoughts and vain contrivances ; 
break not the bruised reed, neither quench the smoking 
flax in yourselves. If you truly love Jesus, hear Him ; 
and since it hath pleased God in some measure, as with 
Paul, to reveal his blessed Son in you, consult not with 
flesh and blood, which are below the heavenly things ; for 
that inherits not the kingdom of God ; but with sincere 
Mary, from a deep sense of the beauty, virtue, and excel- 
lency of that life, that is hid with Christ in God, wait out 
of all cumber, free from that running, willing, sacrificing 
spirit that is in the world, in the pure obedience, humilia- 
tion, godly death or silence, at the feet of Jesus, choosing- 
the better part, which shall never be taken from you : and 



140 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Jesus will be with you; He will shed his peace abroad in 
the midst of you, even that which Hows from the crystal 
streams of life, that arise from under the throne of God." 
It concludes in the followinp: manner: " Remember the 
poverty, simplicity, self-denial, patience, and the cross of 
Jesus. I beg of you, by all that is dear and sacred to you, 
shrink not at this baptism, neither so much as tamper with 
any latitude that would evade his bitter cup. Let not his 
vinegar and gall be unpleasant, nor his crown of thorns 
troublesome ; last of all, let not his nails and spear be 
terrible to you. For they that will not forsake Him in his 
agonies, but be the companions of his tribulations, and 
cheerfully lay down their life and die with Him to the 
world, they and none else shall rise with Him in the new- 
ness of life, and ascend with Him to his Father, by Him 
to be glorified with that glory which He had with his 
Father before the world began. Unto which kingdom, 
God Almighty conduct you, through this earthly pilgrim- 
age. Amen." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 141 



VIII. 

IT has been mentioned that William Penn, about the 
year 1011, travelled in the work of the ministry 
through some parts of the continent ; but of that journey 
there is no particular account. By the labors of Friends, 
particularly William Penn and William Caton, a knowl- 
edge of the doctrines of the Society of Friends was spread 
on the continent ; and a number had been convinced, and 
joined in fellowship with them. 

In the Fourth month of 167 6, we find William Penn 
leaving his family at Worminghurst, in Sussex, where he 
then lived, and attending the Yearly Meeting at London. 

Soon after this he parted with his wife and family, in 
order to make a second visit, in the love of the Gospel, 
to Friends and others in Holland and Germany. Of this 
journey he has preserved an account, which was first pub' 
lished in the year 1694, from which the following is taken : 

This ensuing " Journal of my Travels in Holland 
AND Germany," in the service of the Gospel of my Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ, was written for my own satis- 
faction, and that of some relations and particular friends, 
as the long time it has lain silent shows. But a copy thnt 
was found amongst the late Countess of Conway's papers, 
falling into the hands of a person who much frequented 



142 PASSAGES. FROM THE LIFE 

that family, he was earnest with me, both by himself and 
others, to have leave to publish it for a common good. 

Reader, this journal is of a religious voyage, and has 
some passages in it that may engage thy soul to serious- 
ness, and let thee see how good God is to those that go 
of his holy errands. 

On the 22d of the Fifth month, 16n, I left my dear wife 
and family at Worminghurst, in Sussex, in the fear and 
love of God. We set sail from Harwich about three 
o'clock in the morning of the 26th, being the fifth day of 
the week; and got the sixth day at night within half a 
league of the Briel. Those that came over were George 
Fox, Robert Barclay, G. Keith, G. Watts, John Furly, 
William Tailcoat, Isabel Yeomans, Elizabeth Keith, and 
myself, with two of our servants. 

Finding letters at Amsterdam from the Friends of 
Dantzic, complaining of the heavy sufferings they under- 
went, informing us also that the King of Poland was 
there, and asking advice about an address to him, it fell 
upon me to write the following letter in the name of the 
Friends of Dantzic : 

" To the King of Poland. 
" Great Prince! 

"Actions of justice, mercy, and Truth are worth v of all 
men ; but in a most excellent manner of tlie serious con- 
sideration of kings and princes. We, certain inhabitants 
of the city of Dantzic, have been long great suflerers, not 
for any wickedness committed against the royal law of 
God, or any breach of those civil laws of this city that 
relate to the well-government of it in all natural and civiJ 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 143 

things, but purely and only for the cause of our tender 
consciences towards God. 

" We believe that all true ministry and worship stand 
only in the experimental sense, operations, and leadings of 
the holy light, spirit, or grace that is shed abroad in the 
hearts of men and women, to conduct them in the holy 
way of regeneration unto life eternal. This was the ancient 
apostolical doctrine ; they spoke what they had seen, tasted, 
and handled of the Word of God. And this is our faith, 
doctrine, and practice in this day. 

"And be not displeased with us, oh, King, we entreat 
thee, if we give this for the- reason of our absenting ourselves 
from the public and common ministry or worship; namely, 
that we have no taste or relish, no sense or evidence, that 
their ministry and worship are authorized and performed 
by the apostolical power and spirit of Jesus ; but rather 
that they are the inventions, studies, and powers of man's 
nature ; all which are but strange fire, and therefore cannot 
kindle a true and acceptable sacrifice to God. 

" For it is not man's spirit and degenerate nature, speak- 
ing and professing the words of God's Spirit, that giveth 
acceptance with the Lord, or administereth heavenly edifi- 
cation to men. 

"And as this is the reason in the sight and presence 
of that God that made heaven and earth, and will judge 
the quick and dead, wherefore we cannot join in the com- 
mon and public worship of these parts ; so doth the same 
light and Spirit of God lay an holy necessity upon us, 
with a meek and quiet spirit to come together, after the 
manner of the ancient Christians, that were" the true fol- 
lowers of Jesus ; and with godly fear and a retired mind 



144 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

to wait upon God, and meditate in his holy law of life 
that He hath written in our hearts, according- to his new 
covenant promise ; that He may feed us, teach us, strengthen 
us, and comfort us in our inward man. And, as by this 
Holy Spirit, according- to the practice of the churches of old, 
any are inclined or moved to reprove, exhort, admonish, 
praise, or pray, we are found exercised in these holy 
practices. 

" Now, oh. Prince ! give us poor Christians leave to 
expostulate with thee. Did Christ Jesus or his holy fol- 
lowers endeavor, by precept or example, to set up their 
religion with a carnal sword ? Called He any troops of 
men or angels to defend Him ? Did He countenance his 
over-zealous disciples when they would have had fire from 
heaven to destroy those that were not of their mind ? No; 
but did not Christ rebuke them, saying, ' Ye know not 
what spirit ye are of ? ' 

" Oh, King ! when did the true religion persecute ? 
When did the true church offer violence for religion ? 
Were not her weapons prayers, tears, and patience? Did 
not Jesus conquer by those weapons, and vanquish cruelty 
by suffering ? Can clubs and staves, swords and prisons 
and banishments reach the soul, convert the heart, or con- 
vince the understanding of man ? When did violence ever 
make a true convert, or bodily punishments a sincere 
(Christian ? 

"And here give us leave to remind thee of a noble say- 
ing of one of thy ancestors, Stephen, King of Poland : ' I 
am king of men, not of consciences ; king of bodies, not 
of souls.' And there have been found, and still are, among 
the emperors, kings, princes, and states of the world, some 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 145 

who have had that noble spirit of indulging their consci- 
entious dissenting subjects. Be not thou less noble than 
they." 

The ninth of* the Sixth month we set forward for Her- 
werden, or Herford, and came thither at night. This is 
the city where the Princess Elizabeth Palatine of the 
Rhine hath her court ; whom, and the countess in company 
with her, it was especially upon us to visit ; and that upon 
several accounts. First, in that they are persons seeking 
after the best things. Secondly, in that they are actually 
lovers and favorers of those who separate themselves from 
the world for righteousness' sake. 

The Princess is not only a private supporter of such, but 
gave protection to de Labadie himself and his company; 
yea, when they went under the reproachful name of Quak- 
ers about seven years since. This man was a Frenchman, 
who, being dissatisfied with the looseness and deadness of 
the French Protestants, even at Geneva itself, left them 
and came for Holland ; and so vehemently declaimed 
against the apostasy of the priests and people there, that 
the clergy were enraged, and stirred up the magistrates 
against him, and the rather, because many follow^ed him, 
and several women of great quality. Upon this, the 
Princess gave them an invitation, and they came and were 
protected by her. But since, some miscarriages falling 
out in that place, she thereupon, in good measure, with- 
drew her favor from them, and they removed to another 
place. 

I w^as moved to visit this man and his company six 
years ago, and saw him and his two great disciples ; but 
13 K 



146 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

they would not suffer me to see the people which I labored 
for. In that day I saw the an-iness and unstableness of 
the man's sph'it, and that a sect-master was his name. 
And it was upon me, both by word of mouth and writing, 
to let them know that the enemy Avould prevail against 
them to draw them into inconvenient things, if they came 
not to be stayed in the light of Jesus Christ, and to know 
the holy silence ; and at last they would come to fall out 
one with another and moulder away ; which is in some 
measure come to pass as I feared. For I clearly perceived 
that, though they had received some divine touches, there 
was a danger they would run out with them, and spend 
them like prodigals, not knowing then where to stay their 
minds for daily bread. Yea, though they were something 
angelical and like to the celestial bodies, yet, if they kept 
not their station, they would prove fallen stars. 

The Countess was commendable in this, that she left 
all to join with a people who had a pretence at least to 
more sj^irituality and self-denial than was found in the 
national religion she was bred up in ; for God had reached 
her, as she told me, about nine years ago, and that by an 
extraordinary way. It seemed to us a great pity that 
they should not be acquainted with the life and testimony 
of the true Quakers. 

About a year since, Robert Barclay and Benjamin Furly 
took that city in the way from Fredericstadt to Amster- 
dam, and gave them a visit, in which they informed them 
somewhat of Friends' principles, and recommended the 
testimony of Truth to them, as both a nearer and more 
certain thing than the utmost of de Labadie's doctrine. 
They left them tender and loving. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 147 

But to return. Being arrived at that city, part of which 
is under her government, we gave her to understand it, 
desiring to know what time next day would be most 
proper for us to visit her. She sent us word she was glad 
that we were come, and should be ready to receive us next 
morning about the seventh hour. 

The next morning being come, which was the sixth day 
of the week, we went, about the time she had appointed 
us, and found both her and the Countess ready to receive 
us, which they did with a more than ordinary expression 
of kindness. I can truly say it, and that in God's fear, I 
was very deeply and reverently affected with the sense 
that was upon my spirit of the great and notable day of 
the Lord, and the breakings-in of his eternal power upon 
all nations, and of the raising of the slain Witness to 
judge the world, who is the treasury of life and peace, of 
wisdom and glory to all that receive Him in the hour of 
his judgments and abide with Him. The sense of this 
deep and sure foundation which God is laying as the hope 
of eternal life and glory for all to build upon filled my 
soul with an holy testimony to them, which in a living 
sense was followed by my brethren, and so the meeting 
ended about the eleventh hour. 

The Princess entreated us to stay and dine with her, 
but with due regard both to our testimony and to her at 
that time we refused it, desiring, if she pleased, another 
opportunity that day, to which she with all cheerfulness 
yielded, she herself appointing the second hour. 

So we went to our quarters ; and some time after we 
had dined we returned. The meeting soon began. There 
were several present besides the. Princess and Countess. 



148 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

It was at this meeting that the Lord in a more eminent 
manner began to appear. The eternal Word showed it- 
self a hammer at this day, yea, sharper than a two-edged 
sword, dividing asunder between the soul and the spirit, 
the joints and the marrow. Yea, this day was all flesh 
humbled before the Lord. It amazed one, shook another, 
broke another. The noble arm of the Lord was truly 
awakened, and the weight and work tliereof bowed and 
tendered us also, after an. unusual and extraordinary man- 
ner, that the Lord might work an heavenly sign before 
them and among them ; that the majesty of Him that is 
risen among the poor Quakers might in some measure be 
known unto them ; what God it is we serve, and what 
power it is we wait for and bow before. They had a sense 
and a discovery that day what would become of the gMry 
of all flesh when God shall enter into judgment. Well, 
let my right hand forget its cunning and my tongue cleave 
to the roof of my mouth when I shall forget the loving- 
kindness of the Lord and the sure mercies of our God to 
us his travailing servants that day. Lord, send forth 
thy light and thy truth that all nations may behold thy 
glory 1 

Thus continued the meeting till about the seventh hour; 
which done, with hearts and souls filled with holy thanks- 
givings to the Lord for his abundant mercy and goodness 
to us, we departed to our lodging, desiring to know 
whether our coming the next day might not be uneasy 
or unseasonable to her with respect to the affairs of her 
government, it being the last day of the week, when we 
were informed she was most frequently attended with ad- 
dresses from her people. But with a loving and ready 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 149 

mind she replied that she should be glad to see us the next 
morning, and at any time when we would. 

The next morning, being the 11th of the. Sixth month, 
we were there betwixt eight and nine ; where, Robert 
Barclay falling into some discourse with the Princess, the 
Countess took hold of the opportunity, and whispered me 
to withdraw, to get a meeting for the more inferior ser- 
vants of the house, who would have been bashful to pre- 
sent themselves before the Princess. And, blessed be the 
Lord, He was not w^anting to us. The same blessed 
power that had appeared to visit them of high, appeared 
also to visit them of low degree, and we w^erc all sweetly 
tendered and broken together ; for virtue went forth of 
Jesus that day, and the life of our God was shed abroad 
amongst us as a sweet savor, for which their souls bowed 
before the Lord and confessed to our testimony. 

About three in the afternoon we went to the Princess's ; 
where being come, after some little time, the Princess and 
Countess put me in remembrance of a promise I made 
them in one of my letters out of England that I would 
give them an account, at some convenient time, of my 
first convincement, and of those tribulations and consola- 
tions which I had met withal in this way of the kingdom 
to which God hath brought me. After some pause I found 
myself very free and prepared, in the Lord's love and fear, 
to comply with their request. Among the rest present at 
these opportunities it must not be forgotten that there w^as 
a countess, sister to the Countess, then come to visit her, 
and a Frenchw^oman of quality, the first behaving herself 
very decently, and the last was often deeply broken, and 
from a light, slighting carriage towards the very name of a 
13* 



150 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Quaker, she bectime very intimately and affectionately kind 
and respectful to us. They heard me with an earnest and 
tender attention, and I hope and believe the Lord hath 
made it profitable unto them. 

The next morning- we had a meeting among ourselves 
in our chamber, wherein the Lord refreshed us, and there 
was a great travail upon our spirits, that the Lord would 
stand by us that day and magnify the testimony of his 
own truth by us ; that He might have a seed and people 
in that place to lift up a standard for his name. 

The second hour being at hand, we went to the meeting, 
where were several, as well of the town as of the family. 
Oh, the day of the Lord livingly dawned upon us, and 
the searching life of Jesus was in the midst of us! The 
Word that never faileth them that wait for it, and abide 
in it, opened the way and unsealed the book of life ; yea, 
the quickening power and life of Jesus wrought and 
reached to them, and virtue from him in whom dwelleth 
the Godhead bodily, went forth, and blessedly distilled 
upon us his own heavenly life, sweeter than the spices 
with pure frankincense, yea, than the sweet-smelling 
myrrh that cometh from a far country. And as it began, 
so it was carried on, and so it ended ; blessed be the name 
of the Lord, and confided in be our God forever ! 

We took our solemn leave of them, recommending to 
them holy silence from all will-wofehip, and the workings, 
strivings, and images of their own mind and spirit ; that 
Jesus might be felt by them in their hearts, his holy 
teachings witnessed and followed in the way of his blessed 
cross, which would crucify them unto the world, and the 
world unto them ; that their faith, hope, and joy might 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 151 

stand in Christ in them, the heavenly Prophet, Shepherd 
and Bishop ; whose voice all that are truly sheep will 
hear and follow, and not the voice of any stranger what- 
ever. So we left them in the love and peace of God, 
praying that they might be kept from the evil of this 
world. 

At Frankfort we arrived on the 20th, and having 
made known our intentions of coming, two considerable 
persons came and met us about half a German mile from 
the city, informing us of several who were well affected in 
that town. Upon which we told them the end of our 
coming, and desired to have a meeting with them in the 
afternoon, which we easily obtained at the house of a 
merchant, one of the two that met us. The persons who 
resorted thither were generally people of considerable note, 
both of Calvinists and Lutherans, and we can say they 
received us with gladness of heart, and embraced our 
testimony with a broken and reverent spirit, thanking 
God for our coming amongst them, and praying that He 
would prosper his work in our hands. This engaged our 
hearts to make some longer stay in this city. We, there- 
fore, desired another meeting the next day, which they 
cheerfully assented to ; where several came who were not 
with us the day before, and the Lord who sent us into the 
land was with us, and by his power reached to them, inso- 
much that they confessed to the truth pf our testimony. 

Of these persons there were two women, one unmar- 
ried (Joanna Eleonora de Malane), the other a widow, 
both noble of birth, who had a deep sense of the power 
and presence of God which accompanied our testimony. 
Among some of those who have inclinations after God, a 



152 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

fearful spirit together with the shame of the cross hath 
entered, against which our testimony in part strilxing, we 
took notice it was as life to those noble women, for that 
was it, as they told us, which had long oppressed them, 
and obstructed the work of the Lord amongst them. 
Therefore, said the young woman, " Our quarters are free 
for you; let all come that will come, and lift up your 
voices without fear, for," continued she, " it will never be 
w^ell with us till persecution come, and some of us be lodged 
in the stadthouse," that is the prison. 

We left the peace of Jesus with them, and the same 
afternoon we departed out of that city, being the Fourth 
day of the week. 

Here I wrote an epistle [from which we make extracts]. 

" To the churches of Jesus throughout the world, gathered 
and settled in his eternal light, power, and spir-it, to be 
one holy flock, family, and household to the Lord. 

" Dear Friends and Brethren : — The Lord of heaven 
and earth hath heard our cries, and the full time is come, 
yea, the appointed time is come, and the voice of the 
eternal Spirit in our hearts hath been heard on this 
wise many a time ; awake thou that sleepest, and I will 
give thee life ; arise out of the dust and shine, for thy 
light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon 
thee I And the Lord God hath given us that light by 
which we have comprehended the darkness in ourselves 
and in the world ; and as we have believed in it, dwelt in it, 
and walked in it, we have received power to overcome the 
evil one in all his appearances in ourselves, and faithfully 
and boldly to testify against him in the world. And the 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 153 

blood of Jesus, in this holy way of the lip^ht, have wc felt 
in our souls, to cleanse us from unrlghteoiLsness, and g-ivc 
us to know the mystery of the fellowship of the Gospel one 
with another, which stands in life and immortality. And 
here we become* an holy household and family unto God, 
that live in his presence day and nig-ht, to do his will, as 
becometh his children, redeemed and ransomed by the 
most precious blood of his Son, and no more to return 
to folly. 

''And, Friends, let it never pass out of our remem- 
brance, what our God hath done for us, since He hath 
made us a people. Hath He called us, and not protected 
us ? Hath He not sheltered us in many a storm ? Did He 
ever leave us undei* the reproaches and contradictions of 
men ? Nay, hath He not spoken peace to us ? Were we 
ever cast out by men, and He forsook us ? No ; the Lord 
hath taken us up. When were the gaols so close that He 
could not come in ? And the dungeons so dark that He 
caused not his light to shine upon us ? He hath brought 
us into the wilderness not to starve us, but to try us ; yet 
not above our measure ; for He fed us with manna from 
on high, with pure honey and water out of the rock, and 
gives his good Spirit to sustain us. 

"And now, Friends, as I have been travelling in this 
dark and solitary land, the great work of the Lord in the 
earth has been often presented to my view, and the day 
of the Lord hath been deeply upon me, and my soul hath 
frequently been possessed with a holy and weighty con- 
cern for the glory of the name of the Lord, and the spread- 
ing of his everlasting Truth, and the prosperity of it 
through all nations ; that the very ends of the earth may 



154 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

look to nini, and may know Christ, the light, to bo g'iv^cn 
to them for tlicir salvation. 

" And in the earnest and fervent motion of the powei 
and Spirit of Jesns, I beseech you all, who are turned to 
the light of Christ which shineth in your hearts, and 
believe in it, that you carefully and faithfully walk in it in 
the same dread, awe, and fear in which you began ; that 
that holy poverty of spirit which is precious in the eyes 
of the Lord, and was in the days of your first love, may 
dwell and rest with you ; that you may daily feel the same 
heavenly hunger and thirst, the same lowliness and 
humility of mind, the same zeal and tenderness, and the 
same sincerity and love unfeigned ; that God may fill you 
out of his heavenly treasure with the riches of life, and 
crown you with holy victory and dominion over the god 
and spirit of this world ; that your alpha may be your 
omega, and your author your finisher, and your first love 
your last love ; that so none may make shipwreck of faith 
and of a good conscience, nor faint by the way. As in 
this state we are kept in holy watchfulness to God as in 
the beginning, the table which our Heavenly Father spreads, 
and the blessings with which lie compasseth us about, shall 
not become a snare unto us, nor shall we turn the grace 
and mercies of the Lord into wantonness ; but we shall'Cat 
.and drink in a holy fear, apparel ourselves in fear, buy and 
sell in fear, visit one another in fear, keep meetings, and 
there wait upon the Lord in fear ; yea, whatsoever we 
take in hand to do, it shall be in the holy fear of God, and 
with a holy tenderness of his glory, and regard to the 
prosperity of his Truth ; yea, we shall deny ourselves, nst 
only in the unlaw^ful things, but in the things that are 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 155 

even lawful to us, for the sake of the many millions that 
are unconverted to God. 

" For, my Friends and brethren, God hath laid upon us 
whom He hath honored with the beginning- of his great 
work in the world, the care both of this age and of the 
ages to come. Therefore, let none be treacherous to the 
Lord, nor reward Ilim evil for good ; nor betray his cause 
directly by wilful wickedness, nor indirectly by negligence 
and unfaithfulness, but be zealous and valiant for Truth 
on earth. ! let none lose their testimony, but hold it up 
for God ; let thy gift be ever so small, thy testimony ever 
so little. Through thy whole conversation bear it for God ; 
and be tfue to what thou art convinced of. And wait all 
upon the Lord that you may grow in your heavenly testi- 
mony, that life may fill your hearts, your houses, and your 
meetings ; that you may daily wait to know, and to receive 
power to do the will of God on earth as it is heaven. 

'' And I must tell you that there is a breathing, hunger- 
ing, seeking people, solitarily scattered up and down this 
great land of Germany, where the Lord hath sent me ; and 
I believe it is the like in other nations. And our desire is 
that God would put it into the hearts of many of his faith- 
ful witnesses to visit the inhabitants of this country, where 
God hath a great seed of people to be gathered ; that his 
work may go on in the earth till the whole earth be filled 
with his glory. 

"And it is under the deep and weighty sense of this 
approaching work, that the Lord God hath laid it upon me 
to write to you to wait for the further pourings out of thi> 
power and Spirit of the Lord ; that nothing which is care- 
less, sleepy, earthly, or exhalted may get up, whereby to 



156 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

displease the Lord and cause Him to withdraw his sweet 
and preserving presence from any that linow Him. 

'* And all you, my dear Friends and brethren, who are 
in sufferings for the testimony of Jesus and a good con- 
science, look up to Jesus, the author and finisher of your 
faith ; who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured 
the cross and despised the shame, and is set down at the 
right hand of the Father in the heavenly place ; into 
which, if you faint not, you shall all be received after the 
days of your pilgrimage shall be at an end with a ' Well 
done, good and faithful servant.' Wherefore, let it not 
seem as if some strange thing had happened to you. It 
is the old quarrel — children of this world against the 
children of the Lord ; those that are born after the flesh, 
warring against those that are born after the Spirit. So, 
your conflict is for the spiritual appearance of Christ Jesus 
against those that profess Him in words, but in works and 
conversation every day deny Him ; doing despite to the 
spirit of grace in themselves, and those that are led by it. 

" And to you all, who are the followers of the Lamb 
of God, who was dead, but is alive, and lives for evermore, 
— who is risen in your hearts as a bright shining light, and 
is leading you out of the nature and spirit of this world, 
in the path of regeneration, — I have this to say by way 
of holy encouragement unto you all ; the Lord God that 
was, and is, and is to come, hath reserved for you the 
glories of the last days. And if the followers and martyrs 
of Jesus in ages past when the church was going into 
the wilderness and his witnesses into sackcloth, were, not- 
withstanding, so noble and valiant for the Truth on earth, 
that they loved not their lives unto the death, and suffered 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 157 

joyfully the spoiling of their goods for the testimony of 
Jesus ; — how much more ought 3'ou all to be encouraged 
unto faithfulness, who arc come to the resurrection of the 
day which shall never more be eclipsed ; in which the 
Bridegroom is to come, to fetch you his spouse out of the 
wilderness, to give you beauty for ashes, and the garment 
of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; who will cover you 
with his Spirit, and adorn you with his fine linen, the 
righteousness of the saints. 

''I am, in the faith, patience, tribulation, and hope of 
the kingdom of Jesus, your friend and brother, 

William Penn." 

It came upon me in this place to salute the Princess and 
Countess with this following epistle [of which we give part] : 

"A salutation to Elizabeth, Princess Palatine, and Anna 
Maria de Homes, Countess of Homes, at Herwerden 
in Germany. 

"My Worthy Friends: — Such as I have, such I give 
unto you ; the dear and tender salutation of light, life, 
peace, and salvation by Jesus Christ, the blessed Lamb 
of God ; with the unspeakable joy of which He has re- 
plenished my soul at this time that my cup overfloweth ; 
which is the reward of those who cheerfully drink his cup 
of tribulations, love the cross, and triumph in all the 
shame, reproaches, and contradictions of the world that 
do attend it. My God take you by the hand and gently 
lead you through all the difficulties of regeneration ; and 
as you have begun to know and love his sweet and tender 
drawings, so resign the whole conduct of your lives to Ilim. 
14 



258 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

by admonitions ; this is best to avoid many words, which 
I know wound the soul and offend the Lord. 

"Thirdly: Cast up thy income and see what it daily 
amounts to ; by which thou mayest be sure to have it in 
thy sight and power to keep within compass ; and I beseech 
thee to live low and sparingly till my debts are paid ; and 
then enlarge as thou seest it convenient. Kemember thy 
mother's example when thy father's public-spiritedness 
had w^orsted his estate, which is my case. I know thou 
lovest plain things, and art averse to the pomps of the 
world — a nobility natural to thee. I write not as doubtful, 
but to quicken thee, for my sake, to be vigilant herein, 
knowing that God will bless thy care, and thy poor children 
and thee for it. My mind is wrapt up in a saying of thy 
father's, ' I desire not riches, but to owe nothing ; ' and 
truly that is wealth ; and more than enough to live is a 
snare attended with many sorrows. I need not bid thee 
be humble, for thou art so ; nor meek and patient, for it is 
much of thy natural disposition ; but I pray thee be oft in 
retirement with the Lord, and guard against encroaching 
friendships. Keep them at arm's end; for it is giving 
away our power, aye, and self too, into the possession of 
another ; and that which might seem engaging in the be- 
ginning may prove a yoke and burden too hard and heavy 
in the end. Wherefore, keep dominion over thyself; ^nd 
let thy children, good meetings, and Friends be the pleas- 
ure of thy life. 

" Fourthly : And now, my dearest, let me recommend 
to thy care my dear children ; abundantly beloved of me 
as the Lord's blessings, and the sweet pledges of our 
mutual and endeared affection. Above all thino-s endeavor 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 259 

to breed them up in the love of virtue, and that holy i)lain 
wa}^ of it which we have lived in, that the world in no part 
of it get into my family. I had rather they were homely 
than finely bred as to outward behavior ; yet I love sweet- 
ness mixed with gravity and cheerfulness tempered with 
sobriety. Religion in the heart leads into this true civility, 
teaching men and women to be mild and courteous in their 
behavior, an accomplishment worthy indeed of praise. 

" Fifthly: Next breed them up in a love one of another. 
Tell them it is the charge I^left behind me, and that it is 
the way to have the love and blessing of God upon them ; 
also what his portion is who hates, or calls his brother 
fool. Sometimes separate them, but not long ; and allow 
them to send and give each other small things to endear 
one another with. Once more I sa}^, tell them it was my 
counsel they should be tender and affectionate one to 
another. For their learning be liberal. Spare no cost ; 
for by such parsimony all is lost that is saved ; but let it 
be useful knowledge, such as is consistent with truth and 
godliness, not cherishing a vain conversation or idle mind ; 
but ingenuity mixed with industry is good for the body 
and mind too. I recommend the useful parts of mathe- 
matics, as building houses or ships, measuring, survey- 
ing, dialing, navigation ; but agriculture is especially in 
my.eye — let my children be husbandmen and housewives ; 
it is industrious, healthy, honest, and of good example: 
like Abraham and the holy ancients, who pleased God and 
obtained a good report. This leads to consider the works 
of God and nature, of things that are good, and diverts 
the mind from being taken up with the vain arts and in- 
ventions of a luxurious wohd. It is commendable in the 



160 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

next day with Friends at Krisheim, already appointed^ we 
could neither go forward nor stay till he returned ; and 
yet being not clear to come away, as if we had never en- 
deavored to visit him, it was upon me to write him this 
following letter, to let him know we had been there, and 
our end in coming. [The following is extracted] : 

" To the Prince Elector Palatine of Heidelberg. 

*' Great Prince: — It would seem strange that I, both 
a stranger and a subject, should use this freedom of ad- 
dress to a prince, were he not one whose actions show 
him to be of a free disposition, and easy access to all ; 
would to God all princes were of that mind ! 

"I do, with all sincere and Christian respect, acknowl- 
edge and commend that indulgence thou givest to all peo- 
ple professing religion, dissenting from the national com- 
munion ; for it is in itself a most natural, prudent, and 
Christian thing. 

'' It rendereth the prince peculiarly safe and great. Safe, 
because all interests, for interest' sake, are bound to love 
and court him. Great, in that he is not governed or 
clogged with the power of his clergy ; which in most 
countries is not only a co-ordinate power, a kind of duum- 
virateship in government, imperiuni in imperio, at least 
an eclipse to monarchy, but a superior power, and rideth 
the prince to their designs, holding the helm of the gov- 
ernment, and steering not by the laws of civil freedom, 
but certain ecclesiastical maxims of their own, to the 
maintenance and enlargement of their worldly empire in 
their church. And all this acted under the sacred, peaceable, 
and alluring name of Christ, his ministry, and church. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 161 

" One tiling give me leave to recommend to thee, and 
that is to be very careful to inculcate generous, free, and 
righteous principles into thy son who is likely to succeed 
thee, that when thou art gone the reputation of the coun- 
try may not sink by contrary practices, nor the people of 
divers judgments, now thy subjects, be disappointed, dis- 
tressed, or ruined. Which, with sincere desires for thy 
temporal and eternal good, conclude this, 

" Thy unknown, but sincere friend, 

William Penn. 

"From Manheim, 25th of Sixth month, 1677." 

This being done, and having refreshed ourselves, we 
returned that night by the Rhine to Worms^ whence, the 
next morning, being the first day of the week, we walked 
on foot to Krisheim, about six English miles from Worms. 
We had a good meeting from the tenth to the third hour, 
and the Lord's power was sweetly opened to many of 
the inhabitants of the town who were at the meeting. 
The Yaught, or chief officer, himself stood at the door 
behind the barn, where he could hear and not be seen, 
and went to the priest and told him that it was his work, 
if we were heretics, to discover us to be such, but for his 
part he heard nothing but what was good, and he would 
not meddle with us. 

In the evening we had a more retired meeting of the 
Friends only, very weighty and tender, and great was the 
love of God that was in our hearts at the meeting to visit 
them, and there is a lovely, sweet, and true sense among 
them. We were greatly comforted in them and they were 
greatly comforted in us. Poor hearts ! a little handful sur- 
14* L 



162 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

rounded with great and mighty countries of darkness, it is 
the Lord's great goodness and mercy to them that they 
are so finely kept in the seed of life. 

We came down the river Rhine to Mentz and took an 
open chariot for Frankfort. We presently informed some 
of those people that had received us the time before of 
our return to that city, with desires that we might have 
a meeting that afternoon, which was readily granted us 
by the noble women at whose house we met, whither re- 
•sorted some that we had not seen before. And the Lord 
did after a living manner open our hearts and mouths 
amongst them. Before we parted, we desired a select 
meeting the next morning at the same place of those that 
we felt to be more inwardly aflfected with Truth's testi- 
mony, and that were nearest to the state of a silent meet- 
ing, to which they joyfully assented. 

We went to our lodging, and on the 29th returned to 
them, with whom we had a blessed and heavenly oppor- 
tunity, for we had room for our life amongst them. It 
was as among faithfuh Friends, life ran as oil and was 
a-top of all. 

We recommended a silent meeting to them, that they 
might grow into a holy silence unto themselves ; that the 
mouth that calls God Father and is not of his own birth 
may be stopped, and all images confounded; that they 
may hear the soft voice of Jesus to instruct them, and 
receive his sweet life to feed them and to build them up. 

We set out towards the city of Duysburg, of the Cal- 
vinist way, belonging to the Elector of Brandenburg, in 
and near to which we had been informed there was a 
retired and seeking people. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 163 

We arrived there on the second of Seventh month, 
about noon, being" the first day of the week. The first 
thing \^e did, after we came to our inn, was to inquire 
out one Dr. Mastricht, a civilian, for whom we had a let- 
ter, to introduce us, from a merchant of Cologne ; whom 
quickly finding, we informed him what we came about, 
desiring his assistance, which he readily promised us. 
The first thing wo offered was an access to the Countess 
of Falkenstein and Ijruck. He told us she was an ex- 
traordinary woman, one in whom we should find things 
worthy of our love; that he would write to her to give 
us an opportunity with her ; that the fittest time was the 
present time, in that we might find her at the minister'^/ 
of Mulheim, on the other side of the river from her 
father's castle ; for that she used to come out on Eirst day 
morning, and not return till night; that we must be very 
shy of making ourselves public, not only for our own 
sakes, but for hers, who was .severely treated by her 
father, for the sake of those religious inclinations that 
appeared in her, although her father pretended to be of 
the Protestant religion. 

We therefore despatched towards Mulheim, having re- 
ceived his letter, and being also accompanied by him about 
one-third of the way. But being six English miles, and 
on foot, we could not compass the place before the meet- 
ing was over ; for it was past three before we could get 
out of Duysburg ; and, following that way which led to 
the back of the Graef's castle and orchard, which was 
also a common way to the town (though if we had known 
the country we might have avoided it), we met with one 
Henry Smith, school-master and catechiser of Speldorp, 



164 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

to whom we imparted our business, and gave the letter of 
Dr. Mastricht of Duysburg to introduce us to the Countess. 
He told us he had just left her, being come over the 
water from worship, but he would carry the letter to her, 
and bring an answer suddenly ; but notwithstanding staid 
near an hour. When he came, he gave us this answer, 
namely, that she would be glad to meet us, but she did 
not know where ; but rather inclined that we should go 
over the water to the minister's house, whither, if she 
could, she would come to us; but that a strict hand was 
held over her by her father. After some serious discourse 
with him, we parted; he returning homewards, and we 
advancing to the town. Being necessitated to pass by 
her father's castle, who is seignior or lord of that country, 
it so fell out that at that very instant he came forth to 
walk ; and seeing us in the habit of strangers, sent one 
of his attendants to demand who and from whence we 
were? and whither we went? calling us afterwards to 
him, and asking us the same questions. We answered 
that we were Englishmen, come from Holland, going no 
further in these parts than his own town of Mulheim. 
But not showing him, or paying him, that worldly hom- 
age and respect which was expected from us, some of his 
gentlemen asked us if we knew whom we were before ? 
and if we did not use to deport ourselves after another 
manner before noblemen, and in the presence of princes ? 
We answered we were not conscious to ourselves of any 
disrespect or unseemly behavior. One of them sharply 
replied, " Why do you not pull off your hats, then ? Is 
it respect to stand covered in the presence of the sovereign 
of the country? " We told them it was our practice, in 



OF WILLIAI\r PENN. 165 

the presence of our prince, who is a great king, and that 
we uncovered not our heads to any, but in our duty to 
Almighty God. Upon which the Graef called us Quakers, 
saying to us, '' We have no need of Quakers here ; get 
you out of my dominions, you shall not go to my town." 

We told hini we were an innocent people, that feared 
God, and had good will towards all men ; that we had 
true respect in our hearts towards him, and would be glad 
to do him any real good or service ; and that the Lord 
had made it matter of conscience to us not to conform 
ourselves to the vain and fruitless customs of this world, 
or words to this purpose. However, he commanded some 
of his soldiers to see us out of his territories, to whom we 
also declared somewhat of the reason and intention of our 
coming to that place, in the fear and love of God, and they 
were civil to us. 

We parted with much peace and comfort in our hearts, 
and as we passed through the village where the school- 
master dwelt (yet in the dominions of the Graef), we 
called upon him, and in the sense of God's power and 
kingdom opened to him the message and testimony of 
Truth, which the man received with a weighty and seri- 
ous spirit. Under the dominion of the Graef, there is 
a large congregation of Protestants called Calvinists, of 
a more religious, inward, and zealous frame of spirit than 
any body of people we met with or heard of in Germany. 

After we had ended our testimony to him, we took our 
leave ; desiring him not to fear, but to be of good cour- 
age, for the day of the Lord was hastening upon all the 
workers of iniquity ; and to them that feared his name, 
wherever scattered throughout the earth, He would cau?e 



166 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the Sun of righteousness to arise and visit them, with 
healing under his wings. We desired he would remem- 
ber us with true love and kindness to the Countess, 
daughter to the Graef, and to desire her not to be of- 
fended in us, nor to be dismayed at the displeasure of her 
father, but eve the Lord who hath visited her soul with 
his holy light, by which she seeth the vanity of this 
world, and in some measure the emptiness and deadness 
of the religions that are in it ; and He would preserve her 
from the fear of the wrath of men, that worketh not the 
righteousness of God. So we left the peace of Jesus with 
him, and walked on towards Duysburg, being about six 
English miles from thence, and near the eighth hour at 
night. The Lord was with us, and comforted our hearts 
with the joy of his salvation, as we walked, without any 
outward guide, through a tedious and solitary wood, about 
three miles long. He gave us to remember and to speak 
one unto another of his blessed witnesses in the days past, 
who wandered up and down like poor pilgrims and strangers 
on the earth, their eye being to a city in the heavens that 
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 

Between nine and ten o'clock we reached the walls of 
Duysburg ; but the gates were shut, and there being no 
houses without the walls, we laid us down together in a 
field, receiving both natural and spiritual refreshment: 
blessed be the Lord. About three o'clock in the morning 
we rose, sanctifying God in our hearts, who had kept us 
that night, and walked till five o'clock, often speaking 
one to another of the great and notable day of the Lord 
dawning upon Germany, and of several places in that 
land that were almost ripe unto harvest. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 167 

Soon after the clock had struck five, they opened the 
gates of the city, and we had not long been at our inn, 
when it came upon me, with a sweet, yet fervent power, 
to visit this persecuted Countess with a salutation from 
the love and life of Jesus, and to open unto her more 
plainly the way of the Lord, which I did in this follow- 
ing epistle : 

" To the Countess of Falkenstein and Briick, at 
Mulheim. 
''My DEAR Friend:— Jesus, the immaculate Lamb of 
God, grieved and crucified by all the workers of iniquity, 
illuminate thy understanding, bless and be with thy spirit 
forever ! 

'' Though unknown, yet art thou much beloved, for the 
sake of thy desires and breathings of soul after the living 
God ; and because of that suffering and tribulation thou 
hast begun to endure for the sake of thy zeal towards 
God ; myself having from my childhood been both a 
seeker after the Lord, and a great sufferer for that 
cause, from parents, relations, companions, and the mag- 
istrates of this world. The remembrance whereof hath 
so much the more endeared thy condition unto me; and 
my soul hath often, in the sweet sense and feeling of the 
holy presence of God, and the precious life of his dear Son 
in my heart, with great tenderness implored his Divine 
assistance unto thee, that thou mayst both be illuminated 
to do, and made willing to suffer for his name's sake ; 
that the Spirit of God and of glory may rest upon thy 
soul. 

'' Know certainly that which hath discovered unto thee 



168 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the vanities of this world, the emptiness and the fading 
of all earthly glory, the blessedness of the righteous, and 
the joy of the world that is to come, is the light of Christ 
Jesus, wherewith He hath enlightened thy soul ; for, ' in 
Him was life, and that life is the light of mankind.' Thus 
God promised by the prophet Isaiah, to give Him ' for a 
light to lighten the Gentiles, and for his salvation to the 
ends of the earth.' So that Christ the Light is God's 
gift, and eternal life is hid in Him, yea, all the treasures 
of wisdom and knowledge ; who is the light of the Gos- 
pel temple, even true believers. And all who receive this 
light into their hearts, and bring their deeds to it, to see 
in what ground they are wrought, whether in God or in 
the evil one, and make this blessed light the guide of their 
life; fearing, with a holy fear, to do anything that this 
light manifests to be evil ; waiting and watching with a 
godly care, to be preserved blameless before the Lord. I 
say, all such become children of light, and witnesses of 
the life of Jesus. blessed wilt thou be forever, if in 
the way of this holy light thy mind walks to the end I 

" Let this that hath visited thee lead thee ; this seed of 
light and life, which is the seed of the kingdom. Yea, it is 
Christ, the true and only seed of God, that visited my 
soul, even in my young years ; that spread my sins in 
order before me, reproved me, and brought godly sorrow 
upon me, making me often to weep in solitary places, 
and say within my soul, ' that I knew the Lord as I 
ought to know Him ! O that I served Him as I ought to 
serve Him ! ' Yea, often was there a great concern upon 
my spirit about my eternal state, mournfully desiring that 
the Lord would give my soul rest in the great day ot 



OF ^VILLIAM PENN. 169 

trouble. Now was all the glory of the world as a bubble ; 
yea, nothing was dear to me that I might win Christ, for 
the love, friendship, and pleasure of this world were a bur- 
den unto my soul. And in this seeking state I was di- 
rected to the testimony of Jesus in my own conscience, as 
the true shining light, giving me to discern the thoughts 
and intents of my own heart. And no sooner was I 
turned unto it, but I found it to be that which from my 
childhood had visited me, though I distinctly knew it not. 
And when I received it in the love of it, it showed me all 
that ever I had done, and reproved all the unfruitful works 
of darkness, judging me as a man in the flesh, and laying 
judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet in 
me. And as by the brightness of his coming into my 
soul. He discovered the man of sin there upon his throne ; 
so by the breath of his mouth, which is the two-edged 
sword of his Spirit, he destroj^eth his power and kingdom. 
And having made me a witness of the death of the cross, 
He hath also made me a witness of his resurrection. So 
that in good measure my soul can now say I am justified 
in the spirit, and though the state of condemnation unto 
death was glorious, yet justification unto life was and is 
more glorious. 

" In this state of the new man all is new. Behold, new 
heavens and a new earth I Old things come to be done 
away ; the old man with his deeds put off. Now, new 
thoughts, new desires, new affections, new love, new 
friendship, new society, new kindred, new faith, even that 
which overcometh this world through many tribulations ; 
and new hope, even that living hope that is founded upon 
true experience, which holds out all storms, and can see to 
15 



170 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the glory that is invisible to carnal eyes, in the midst of 
the greatest tempest. 

"It is the same blesseii seed of light, life, and grace 
which from God the Father is sown in thy heart, and 
which hath moved and wrought there the change which 
thou hast witnessed from the spirit of this world. Turn 
to it, watch in it, that by it thou mayst be kept from all 
that it discovers to be contrary to God ; especially from 
thyself, from thy own runnings, willings, and strivings. 
For whatsoever is not born of the Spirit is flesh, and that 
inherits not the kingdom of God ; but all that sow to it 
shall inherit corruption By this thou wilt come to feel, 
not only all sin to be a burden, but all thy own righteous- 
ness; yea, all man's righteousness to be a burden. Thou 
wilt see the difference between the duties and prayers which 
thou begettest and the duties and prayers which, in thy true 
silence from all self-activity of mind, the Lord begets in thee. 

" that thou mightst know the mystery of the new 
birth, and what that is that can truly call God, Father ; 
even that which is begotten of Him, which liveth, and 
breatheth, and hath its beginning and being in that life 
which is hid with Christ in God, and by which it hath 
been quickened to the knowledge and worship of Christ 
and God. And this thou shalt not fail to know and 
enjoy, as thou patiently sufferest the Lord to work his 
own work in thee by his own blessed Spirit. And that 
which will give thee to savor and discern the right 
motions and conceptions, duties and performances in thy- 
self from the false, will give thee to savor and discern 
that which is right from that which is false in others j 
that which is of God from that which is of man. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 171 

" Have a care of gathering sticks and kindling a fire of 
thy own, and then compassing thyself about with the 
sparks of the fire which thou hast kindled, for the end 
of this state is to lie down in sorrow, because the heavenly 
fire is absent which maketh the sacrifice acceptable. With- 
out Christ we can do nothing, and blessed are they that 
stir not before the angel moveth the waters, and go not 
before Christ, but are led by Him, and that awaken not 
their Beloved till He please ; in whose hands the times 
and the seasons are. O blessed are they whose eyes are 
opened to see Him always present, a God always nigh 
at hand, whose hearts are stayed upon his holy appearance 
in them, and are thereby translated into his likeness ; 
whose faith and hope are in Christ in them, the hope of 
glory. 

" My dear friend, weigh these things with a serious, re- 
tired, sweet, and tender frame of spirit, and God, who hath 
called me and thee by the light of his dear Son, open thy 
understanding to perceive the Truth as it is in Jesus, and 
what is the mystery of the fellowship of the saints in light. 
So to the Lord I recommend thee, the watchman and 
keeper of Israel. The Lord be thy strength and holy 
comfort, and speak peace to thee, and never leave thee 
nor forsake thee till He hath conducted thee, through 
all tribulations, to his everlasting kingdom of rest and 
glory. 

" dear heart ! be valiant, and stay thyself upon Christ 
Jesus, the everlasting rock, and feel Him a fountain in thy 
soul ; feel his blood to cleanse, and his blood to drink, and 
his flesh to eat ; feed upon Him, for God hath given Him 
for the life of the world. 



172 PASSACIES FROM T 11 K LIFE 

"I hud soon thee, hud not tliy futhor's strnii<»-o sort of 
severity hindrrod. And this lot nio add for thy })articulai 
comfort, that though I have been a man of g-rcat anguish 
and sorrow because of the scorn and r(>i)roach that hath 
attended my separation from the world (havinj^ been 
tau:;ht of Jesus to turn my back upon all for the sake 
of that glory that shall be revealed), yet to God's honor I 
can say it, I have a hundred friends for one. Yea, God 
hath turned the hearts of my enemies towards me; He 
hath fullilled his promise to turn the hearts of the parents 
unto the children. For my parents, that once disowned 
me for this blessed testimony's sake, have come to love 
me above all, and have left me all, thinking* they could 
never do and leave enough for me. how good is the 
Lord I yea, the ways of his mercy arc even past linding 
out. . 

" Wherefore, my dear friend, trust in the Lord forever ; 
and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of 
the })ro[)hets and of the apostles, the God of all the holy 
martyrs of Jesus, illuminate, fortify, and preserve thee 
steadfast, that in the end thou mayst receive the reward 
of life and eternal salvation, to whom be glory, and to tlie 
Tjamb that sits upon the throne, one God and one Lord, 
blessed and magnitied forever and ever. Amen. 

" Thy great and faithful lover for the blessed and holy 
Truth's sake, 

William Penn. 

"DUYSEURG, the loth of the Seventh month, U)77." 

Here follows a letter to her father, the Graef of Bruck 
and FalkcMistein [of wiiieli we give a part j : 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 173 

*' To the Graef ryr Earl of Brvck and FaUcenstebi. 

"Friend: — I wish thy salvation, and the Lord reward 
thee good for the evil that thou showedst unto me and my 
friends the last night, if it be his will. But since thou art 
but a mortal man, one that must give an account, in com- 
mon with all, to the immortal God, let me a little expostu- 
late with thee. 

" For thy saying, ' We want no Quakers here,' I say, 
under favor, you do ; for a true Quaker is one that 
trembleth at the word of the Lord, that worketh out his 
salvation with fear and trembling, and all the days of his 
appointed time waiteth in the light and grace of God till 
his great change cometh. One that taketh up the daily 
sross to his will and lusts, that he might do the will of 
God manifested to him by the light of Jesus in his con- 
science, and according to the holy precepts and examples 
in the Holy Scriptures of Truth, laid down by Jesus and 
his followers for the ages to come. Yea, he is one that 
loveth his enemies rather than feareth them ; that blesseth 
those that curse him, and prayeth for those that despitefully 
treat him, as God knoweth we do for thee. Oh that thou 
wert such a Quaker! Then wouldst thou rule for God, 
and act in all things as one that must give an account to 
God for the deeds done in the body, whether good or evil. 
Then would temperance, mercy, justice, meekness, and the 
fear of the Lord dwell in thy heart, and in thy family, and 
country. 

" Repent, I exhort thee, and consider thy latter end, for 
thy days are not like to he many in this world ; therefore, 
mind the things that make for thy eternal peace, lest 



174 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

distress come upon thee as an armed man, and there be 
none to deliver thee I 

" I am thy well-wishing friend, 

William Penn. 

"DuYSBURG, 3d of the Seventh month, 1G77." 

This being done, we went to Dr. Mastricht's to inform 
him of what had passed, who, though of a kind disposi- 
tion and very friendly to us, yet seemed surprised with 
fear, (the common disease of this country,) crying out, 
"What will become of this poor Countess? Her father 
hath called her Qaaker a long time, behaving himself 
very severely to her, but now he will conclude she is 
one indeed, and he will lead her a lamentable life. I 
know," said he, "you care not for suffering, but she is to 
be pitied." We told him that we both loved, her and 
pitied her, and could lay down our lives for her, as Christ 
hath done for us in the will of God, if we could thereby 
do her good ; but that we had not mentioned her name, 
neither was the letter that he gave us to her so much as 
seen or known of her father. But still he feared that our 
carriage would incense the Graef so much the more against 
both his daughter, and all those serious and inquiring 
people up and down his country. We answered with an 
earnestness of spirit that they had minded the incensings 
and wrath of men too much already, and that true religion 
would never spring or grow under such fears, and that it 
was time for all who felt anything of the work of God in 
their hearts, to cast away the slavish fear of man, and to 
come forth in the boldness of the true Christian life ; yea, 
that sufferings break and make way for greater liberty, and 
that God was wiser and stronger than man. 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 175 

It was now something past the twelfth hour of the day. 
In the way to our lodging we met a messenger from the 
Countess of Falkenstein, a tender young man, near to the 
kingdom, who saluted us in her name with much love ; 
telling us that she was much grieved at the entertainment 
of her father towards us, advising us not to expose our- 
selves to such difficulties and hardships, for it would grieve 
her heart that any who came in the love of God to visit 
her, should be so severely handled ; for at some he set his 
dogs, upon others he puts his soldiers to beat them. *' But 
what shall I say ? that itself must not hinder you from 
doing good," said the Countess. We desired the remem- 
brance of our kind love unto her, and that he would let 
her know that our concern was not for ourselves, but for 
her. 

It came upon me to write a letter to the noble young 
woman at Frankfort, as follows : 

" Dear Friend, Joanna Eleonora Malane : — My dear 
and tender love, which God hath raised in my heart by 
his living word to all mankind, (but more especially unto 
those in whom He hath begotten a holy hunger and thirst 
after Him,) saluteth thee. And amongst those of that 
place where thou livest the remembrance of thee, with 
thy companions, is most particularly and eminently at 
this time brought before me. And the sense of your 
open-heartedness, simplicity, and sincere love to the testi- 
mony of Jesus delivered by us unto you hath deeply en- 
gaged my heart towards you, and often raised in my soul 
heavenly breathings to the God of my life that He would 
keep you in the daily sense of that divine life which then 



176 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

affected you. For this know, it was the life in yourselves 
that so sweetly visited you, by the ministry of life through 
us. 

" Wherefore, love the divine life and light in yourselves. 
Be retired and still. Let that holy seed move in all heav- 
enly things before you move ; for no one receiveth any- 
thing that truly profiteth but what he receiveth from 
above. Thus said John to his disciples. Now that that 
stirrcth in your hearts draweth you out of the world, 
slayeth you to all the vain glory, and pleasure, and empty 
worships that arc in it ; this is from above, the heavenly 
seed of God, pure and incorruptible, which is come down 
from heaven to make you heavenly, that in heavenly 
places you may dwell, and witness with the saints of old 
this heavenly treasure in earthen vessels. 

'^ stay your minds upon the appearance of Jesus in 
you, in whose light you shall see light. It will make you 
of a weighty, considering spirit more and more, that you 
may see how the mystery of iniquity hath wrought, and 
how mankind is corrupted in all things, and what part 
you yet have which belongeth not to the paradise of God, 
that you may lay it all down at the feet of Jesus, and fol- 
low Ilim, who is going up and down doing good to all that 
believe in his name. So possess your souls in the sensible 
feeling of his daily divine visits, shinings, and breathings 
upon your spirits, and wait diligently and watch circum- 
spectly, lest the enemy surprise you, or your Lord come 
at unawares upon you, and you be unprepared to receive 
his sweet and precious visitations. 

'' Thy faithful friend and the Lord's day -laborer, 

William Penn." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 177 

We took wagon for Wiewart, the mansion-house of the 
family of the Somerdykes, where J. de Labadie's company 
reside, it being strong upon my spirit to give them a visit. 
We got thither about five o'clock ; and as we were walking- 
over a field to the house we met a young man of that 
company who conducted us in. I asked for Ivon, the 
pastor, and Anna Maria Schurmans. Ivon presently 
came with his co-pastor. They received us very civilly, 
however. They seemed shy of letting me speak with 
Anna Maria Schurmans, objecting her weakness, age, 
taking physic, etc. ; but, patting them in mind how un- 
handsomely I was used at Herwerden six years ago by 
J. de Labadie, their father, who, though I came a great 
journey to visit him and his people, suffered me not to 
speak with them, they presently complied, and went in 
to let her know that such a person desired to speak v/ith 
her, and quickly returned, desiring me to come in ; but, 
foreseeing my time would be too short for my message, 
the sun being near setting and having to go on foot two 
English miles of unknoAvn way to our lodging, I desired 
that they would give me an opportunity the next morn- 
ing, which they readily complied with. So I took my 
leave of them, who in a friendly manner brought us a 
little on our way. That night a great weight was upon 
my spirit, and especially the next morning ; yet my faith 
was in the power of God, and I had a plain sight that I 
should have a good service among them ; however, I 
should clear my conscience, and my peace should' rest 
with me. 

The next morning I returned to them, and John Claus 
along with me. So soon as we came we were brought 



178 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

into Anna Maria Schurmans' chamber, where also was 
with her one of the three Somerdykes. 

This Anna Maria Schurmans aforesaid is an ancient 
maiden above sixty years of ag-e, of great note and fame 
for learning in languages and philosophy, and hath ob- 
tained a considerable place among the most learned men 
of this age. The Somerdykes are daughters to a noble- 
man of the Hague, people of great breeding and inheri- 
tances. These, with several other persons, being affected 
with the zealous declamation of J. de Labadie against the 
dead and formal churches of the world, and awakened to 
seek after a more spiritual fellowship and society, sepa- 
rated themselves from the common Calvinistic churches, 
and followed him in the way of a refined independency. 

They are a serious, plain people, and are come nearer 
to Friends as to silence in meetings, women speaking, 
preaching by the Spirit, plainness in garb and furniture 
in their houses. With these two we had the company of 
the two pastors and a doctor of physic. After some si- 
lence, I proposed this question to them : What was it that 
induced them to separate from the common way they for- 
merly lived in ? I desired them that they would be pleased 
to be plain and open with me as to the ground of their 
separation ; for I came not to cavil, but in a Christian 
spirit to be informed. 

Upon this, Ivon, the chief pastor, gave us the history 
of J. de Labadie's education ; how he was bred among the 
Jesuits, and deserted them and embraced the Protestant 
religion ; and finally, of his great dissatisfaction with the 
Protestant churches of France; and that if God would not 
give them a purer church, they three would sit down by 



O F W I L L I A M P E N N . 179 

themselves, resolving never more to mix themselves among 
the Babylonish assemblies of the world, adding several 
solemn appeals concerning the simplicity and integrity of 
their hearts in these things. 

Ivon having done, Anna Maria Schurmans began in 
this manner: ''I find myself constrained to add a short 
testimony." She told us her former life, of her pleasure 
in learning, and her love to the religion she was brought 
up in ; but confessed she knew not God or Christ truly all 
that while. And though from a child Grod had visited her 
at times, yet she never felt such a powerful stroke as by 
the ministry of J. de Labadie. She saw her learning to 
be vanity and her religion like a body of death ; she re- 
solved to despise the shame, desert her former way of 
living and acquaintance, and to join herself with this little 
family that was retired out of the world ; among whom 
she desired to be found a living sacrifice, offered up entirely 
to the Lord. She spoke in a very serious and broken 
sense, not without some trembling. These are but short 
hints of what she said. 

After she had done, one of the Somerdykes began in a 
very reverent and weighty frame of mind, and in a sense 
that very well suited her contempt of the world. She told 
us how often she had pourned from her young years be- 
cause she did not know the Lqj'd as she desired, often say- 
ing within herself, " If God would make known to me his 
ways, I would trample upon all the pride and glory of the 
world." She earnestly expressed the frequent anguish of 
spirit she had because of the dcadness and formality of the 
Christians she was bred among, saying to herself, '' Oh, 
the pride, the lusts, the vain pleasures in which Christians 



180 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

live I Can this be the way to heaven ? Is this the waj 
to glory? Are these followers of Christ? Oh, no! Oh, 
God ! where is thy little flock ? Where is thy little family 
that will live entirely to thee — that will follow thee ? 
Make me one of that number." ''And," continued she, 
" when the servant of the Lord, J. de Labadie, came into 
Holland, I, among others, had a curiosity to hear him, and 
with several was deeply affected by him. He spoke the 
very thoughts of my heart ; methought my heart was 
pricked when I heard him ; and I resolved by the grace 
of God to abandon all the glory and pride of this world, 
to be one of those who should sit down with him in a 
separation from the vain and dead worships of this world. 
I count myself happy that I ever met with him and these 
pastors, who seek not themselves but the Lord. And we 
are a family that live together in love, of one soul and one 
spirit, entirely given up to serve the Lord ; and this is the 
greatest joy in the world." 

After her, du Lignon, the other pastor, gave us also an 
.account of his inducement to embrace J. de Labadie, but 
not so lively. 

After him, the doctor of physic, who had been bred 
for a priest, but voluntarily refused that calling,, expressed 
himself after this manner: '^ I can also bear my testimony 
in the presence of God th^t though I lived in as much 
reputation at the university as any of my colleagues or 
companions, and was well reputed for sobriety and honesty, 
yet I never felt such a living sense of God as when I heard 
the servant of the Lord, J. de Labadie," adding, " The first 
day I heard him, I was so struck and affected that I can 
truly say, through the good grace of God, and the conduct 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 181 

of the Holy Spirit, it was to me as the day of my salvation, 
be did so liviugl}^ touch. my heart with a sense of the truf, 
Christian worship; upon which I forsook the university 
and resolved to be one of this family ; and this I can say 
in the fear of the Lord." 

P. Ivon concluded : '' This is wbat we have to say con- 
cerning the work of God amongst us." 

All this while 1 minded not so much {heir words as 1 
felt and bad unity with a measure of divine sense tbat was 
upon them. Certainly tbe Lord hath been amongst them ; 
yea, I had a living sense in my heart that somewhat of 
the breath of life had breathed upon them ; and though 
they were in great mixtures, yet God's love was towards 
them. 

After some silence I began on this wise : "I come not 
to judge you, but to visit you ; not to quarrel or dispute, 
but to speak of the things of God's kingdom ; and I have 
no prejudice, but great love and regard in my heart towards 
you ; wherefore, hear me with Christian patience and 
tenderness. 

"I do confess and believe that God hath touched your 
hearts with his divine finger, and that his work is amongst 
you ; that it was his Spirit that gave you a sight of the 
vanity and folly of this world, and that hath made you 
sensible of the dead religions that are in it. It is this 
sense I love and honor ; and I am so far from undervaluing 
or opposing this tender sense I feel upon you, that this it 
is I am come to visit, and you for the love of it. And as 
for the reproaches that may attend you on the score of 
your separation, with all the reports that therefore go con- 
cerning you, they are what I respect you for, being well 
16 



182 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

acquainted with the nature and practice of this world to- 
wards those that retire out of it. 

" Now since I have with patience, and I can truly say 
with great satisfaction, heard your account of your experi- 
ences, give me the like Christian freedom to tell you mine, 
to the end you may ha.ve some sense of the w^ork of God 
in me ; for those who are come to any measure of a Divine 
sense they are as looking-glasses to each other, seeing 
themselves in each other, as face ansvvereth face in a glass." 

Here I began to let them know how and when the 
Lord first appeared unto me, which was about the twelfth 
year of my age, anno 165G. How at times, between that 
and the fifteenth, the Lord visited me, and the divine 
impressions He gave me of himself ; of my persecution at 
Oxford, and how the Lord sustained me in the midst of 
that hellish darkness and debauchery ; of my being ban- 
ished the college ; the bitter usage I underwent when I 
returned to my father — whipping, beating, and turning 
out of doors in 1G62 ; of the Lord's dealings with me in 
France, and in the time of the great plague in London. 
In fine, the deep sense He gave me of the vanity of this 
world— of the irrcligiousness of the religions of it. Then 
of my mournful and bitter cries to Him that He would 
show me his own way of life and salvation, and my reso- 
lutions to follow Him, whatever reproaches or sufferings 
should attend me ; and that with great reverence and 
brokenness of spirit. How, after all this, the glory of the 
world overtook me, and I was even ready to give up my- 
self unto it, seeing as yet no such thing as the primitive 
6[)irit and church on the earth, and being ready to faint 
concerning my hope of the restitution of all things. It 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 183 

was at this time that the Lord visited me with a certain 
sound and testimony of his eternal word, through one of 
those the world calls a Quaker, namely, Thomas Loe. I 
related to them the bitter mockings and scornings that fell 
upon me, the displeasure of my parents, the invectiveness 
and cruelty of the priests, the strangeness of all my com- 
panions ; what a sign and wonder they made of me ; but, 
above all, that great cross of resisting and watching against 
my own inward vain affections and thoughts. 

Here I had a fine opportunity to speak of the mystery 
of iniquity and ungodliness in the root and ground, and to 
give them an account of the power and presence of God 
which attended us in our public testimonies and sufferings ; 
after an indirect manner censuring their weaknesses by 
declaring and commending the contrary practices among 
Friends, too large to be here related. And notwithstand- 
ing all my sufferings and trials by magistrates, parents, 
companions, and, above all, from the priests of the false 
religions in the world, the Lord hath preserved me to this 
day, and hath given me an hundred-fold in this world as 
well as the assurance of life everlasting ; informing them 
of the tenderness of my father to me before and at his 
death ; and how through patience and long-suffering all 
opposition was conquered. Then I began my exhortation 
unto them, which was on this wise : 

That since God had given me and them a Divine sense 
of Him, our eye should be to Him and not to man ; that 
we might come more into a silence of ourselves, and a 
growth into that heavenly sense. That this was the work 
of the true ministry, not to keep people to themselves, ever 
teaching- them, but to turn them to God, the new covenant 



184 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

teacher, and to Christ, the great Gospel minister. Thus 
John did, and thought it no dishonor that they left him 
to go to Christ. " Behold the Lamb of God," said he, 
"that taketh away the sins of the world!" And even 
John's disciples left him to follow Christ. Nay, John 
testifies of himself that he was to decrease and Christ was 
to increase. Wherefore I pressed them to have their eye 
to Christ, who taketh away the sin ; who is from heaven 
heavenly; to see that He increase in them. Yea, that 
henceforward they should know no man after the flesh. 
That their knowledge of, and regard for and fellowship, 
one with another should stand in the revelation of the 
Son of God in them, who is God's great prophet, b}^ whom 
God speaketh in these latter daj^s. And if their ministers 
be true ministers they will count it their glory to give way 
to Christ, and that they decrease and Christ increase ; that 
the instrument giveth way to him that uscth it, the ser- 
vant to the Lord. Which, though it seenieth to detract 
from the ministers, yet it was, and is, the glory of a true 
minister that God and Christ should be all in all, and that 
his will should be fulfilled. I told them tie day of the 
Lord God was come, and all people must look to Him for 
salvation ; that all people must nov/ come to keep God's 
great sabbath, to rest from mere man and the spirit of man, 
and all men's thoughts, words, and works ; and that if 
they were true believers they were at least entering into 
their rest. 

I left the blessing and peace of Jesus among them, de- 
parting in the love and peace of God ; and I must needs 
say they were, beyond expectation, tender and respectful 
to us. The Lord comforted my soul in this service ; yea, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 185 

all that is within me magnified his holy name, because of 
his blessed presence that was with us. 

The two pastors and the doctor came with us a field's 
length, where we took wagon, and the chiefest of them 
took occasion to ask me if the Truth rose not first amongst 
a poor, illiterate, and simple sort of people ? I told him 
yes, that was our comfort, and that we owed it not to the 
learning of this world. "Then," said he, "let not the 
learning of this world be used to defend that which the 
spirit of God hath brought forth, for scholars now coming 
among you will be apt to mix school learning amongst 
your simpler and purer language, and thereby obscure the 
brightness of the testimony." I told him it was good for 
us all to have a care of our own spirits, words, and works, 
confessing what he said had weight in it; telling him it 
was our care to write and speak according to the Divine 
sense, and not human invention. So in a very sober and 
serious manner w^e parted, being about the twelfth hour at 
noon. 

The next morning about seven o'clock, being the IGth 
of the Seventh month, we took boat for Embden, which is 
about three leagues. On board of that vessel it came upon 
me to write a letter to Friends in England concerning the 
Separatists. (Wilkinson and Story and their folloAvers, 
who had caused a schism among Friends on the subject 
of church discipline.) 

" To Friends everyiuhere, concei'ning the present Sep- 
aratists, and their spiiHt of separation. 

"Friends and Brethren. — By a mighty hand and by 
an outstretched arm, hath the Lord God everlasting garh- 
IG* 



186 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

ered il; to be a people, and in his own power and life hath 
He preserved us a people unto this day ; and praises be to 
his eternal name ! no weapon that hath yet been formed 
against us, either from without or from within, hath 
prospered. 

" Now, this I say unto you, and that in his counsel who 
hath visited us ; — whoever g-oeth out of the unity with their 
brethren, are first gone out of unity with the power and 
life of God in themselves, in which the unity of the 
brethren standeth ; and the least member of the body in 
the unity standeth on the top of them, and hath a judg- 
ment against them. Unto which judgment, of both 
great and small amongst the living family that in unity 
are preserved, they must bow before they can come into 
the unity again. Yea, this they will readily do, if they 
are come into unity with the life and power of God in 
themselves, which is the holy root that beareth the tree, 
the fruit, and the leaves, all receiving life and virtue from 
it, and thereby are nourished unto God's praise. 

'' I feel this unruly spirit is tormented under the stroke 
and judgment of the power, and in its subtlety is seeking 
occasion against the instruments, by whom the power 
gave it forth. Let all have a care how they touch with 
this spirit in those vvorkings, for by being one with this 
spirit in judging those who have been faithful, according 
to the gift of wisdom they have received from God, they 
will feed it and fortify it, and in the end come to be one 
with it against the power itself, and at last run out and 
become open enemies and despisers, for whom is reserved 
the blackness of darkness forever unless they repent. 

''Wherefore, all that labor for the restoration of those 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 187 

who are out of unity vvith the brethren, let them be such 
as are of a sound mind themselves, else what will they 
gather to ? or what v/ill they gather from ? And let them 
labor in the simplicity, integrit}^, love, and zeal of the 
power that first gathered Lis to God. For that which is 
rightly gotten will endure, but that w^hich is obtained by 
the contrivance, interest, and persuasions of men getteth 
no further than man. 

" Therefore, let none look out of the Seed for help, for 
all power is in it, and there the true light and judgment 
stand forever, and that Seed only hath God ordained to 
bruise the serpent's head. Wherefore, let us be still, and 
trust and confide therein forever. Let none look back, 
faint, or consult, for if they do, they will darken their pure 
eye and lose their way. 

'' As all would stand before the Lord and his people, let 
not this spirit be reasoned withal ; enter not into proposals 
and articles with it, but feed it with judgment ; that is 
God's decree. So may the souls that are deceived, come 
by the right door into the heavenly unity. 

" My brethren, look forwards, and lift up your eyes, for 
the fields are even white unto harvest, up and down the 
nations. Let us all who have received the gift from God, 
wait in deep humility to be raised up and empowered by 
Him more and more, to eye and prosecute his universal 
service in the world ; to whose appearance the kings and 
kingdoms of the Gentiles shall bring their glory. Which 
noble work, had those who are gone into the separation 
but laid deeply to heart, they would never have sat at 
home murmuring, fretting, and quarrelling against the 
comely and godly order and practice of their brethren; 



188 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

but love, peace, and joy had filled their hearts, and not 
the troubler and accuser of the brethren, who lath 
opened an evil eye in them, and begotten them into a 
discontented, self-separating mind, and this image they 
bear, and the pure eye sees it. 

*' let none tempt the Lord ! Let us all dwell in that 
divine sense that He hath begotten in us, where our love, 
as a fresh and pure stream, will always flow to God and 
to one another. Here all his ways are pleasantness and 
all his paths are peace ; for where He keepeth the house, 
who is Prince of peace, He will keep all in his heavenly 
peaces We are but as one family, and therefore we have 
but one Lord and Master. We are but as one flock, and 
we have but one heavenly Shepherd to hear, who goeth 
before us, and giveth us eternal life to follow Him. If 
any are offended in Him or in his, it is their own fault ; 
if they faint and grow weary, we are truly sorry ; if 
through unwatchfulncss the enemy hath entered, begotten 
coldness to the brethren, and carelessness of embracing 
the opportunities by which the unity is renewed and in- 
creased, so that what is done by the brethren without 
them is looked upon, first with a slight eye and then 
with an evil eye, which begets distance, and this distance 
in time a separation, and separation continued bringeth 
forth enmity, and this enmity death itself, we are in our 
spirits truly grieved for them. However, the judgment 
of God must stand against them, and that spirit that 
leadeth them, in which they gather not to God but to 
themselves. 

" Enter not into disputes and contests with it ; it is that 
it seeketh and loveth ; but go on in your testimony and 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 189 

business fov the Lord, in the Lord's peaceable power and 
spirit, and his blessings and presence of life shall be with 
you. We can say it of a truth, ' God is good to Israel 
and to all that are of an upright heart.' 

" Your faithful friend and brother in the service of our 
dear Lord, 

William Penn." 

We arrived at Embden, the city where Friends have 
been so bitterly and barbarously used — the like hath 
scarcely been known in any place where Truth hath 
broken forth in our day, they having here been banished 
some thirty, and some forty times and above. 

As I was writing to Doctor Andrews, President of the 
Council of State, who is reported to have been the author 
of this cruelty to our friends, a burden came upon me ; 
my writing would not serve the turn, I must go myself, 
and in the fear and name of the Lord plead the innocent 
and suffering cause of our friends with him. So away 
we went to his house. He was at first astonished to see 
what manner of men we were, but after a little time he 
comported himself with more kindness than we expected 
at his hand. I asked him if he and the Senate had not 
received a letter in Latin from an Englishman about two 
years since concerning their severity towards the people 
called Quakers. He told me he had. I replied I was the 
man, and I was constrained in conscience to visit him on 
their behalf, and I could not see how he, being a com- 
monwealthsman and a Protestant, could persecute. 

I pleaded the un naturalness, the unchristianity, and 
imprudence of such proceedings, and pressed our reasons 



J90 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

earnestly, but tenderly upon him. He promised me that, 
if I would write to the Senate a remonstrance of the 
case of our friends, he would both present it and get it to 
be read, and make it appear that he was not so much our 
enemy as we looked upon him to be. 

We took wag-on for Bremen, where we came safely, 
through the Lord's goodness, on the 18th. In this city 
there is a work of the Lord begun, though yet obscurely. 
We had a travail upon our spirits that the blessed and 
precious Truth of our dear Lord and Master might find 
a place to rest its foot upon. 

At the inn we had frequent opportunity to declare the 
way of Truth, and we must needs say we were heard with 
patience and sobriety. We left books amongst them all, 
and in the love and fear of God we took our leave of them, 
and begun our journey towards Herwerden, the court 
of the Princess, where we arrived every way well through 
the mercies of the Lord. We went to visit her, and found 
both her and the Countess ready to receive us, which they 
did with much love and tenderness. The house being 
clear of strangers, they both earnestly prest us to sup 
with them, which, being not well able to decline, we sub- 
mitted to. 

At supper the power of the Lord came upon me, and it 
was a true supper to us, for the hidden manna was mani- 
fested and broken amongst us, yea, a blessed meeting it 
proved to us. 0, the reverent tenderness and lowly frame 
of spirit that appeared this evening both in the Princess 
and Countess ! The Frenchwoman we found greatly im- 
proved, both in her love and understanding, yea, she was 
very zealous and very broken, and was always with ur? on 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 191 

these occasions. At parting, I desired the Princess would . 
give us such another opportunity next day, being the First 
day of the week, as we had tlie last time we were with 
her. She answered me, " With all my heart ; but will ye 
not come in the morning too ? " 

About seven o'clock the next morning we came. About 
eight the meeting began, and held till eleven ; several per- 
sons of the city, as well as those of her own family, being 
present. After the people were gone out of the chamber, 
it lay upon me from the Lord to speak to them two, the 
Princess and the Countess, with respect to their par- 
ticular conditions, occasioned by these words from the 
Princess, " I am fully convinced ; but, oh, my sins are 
great ! " 

Whilst I was speaking, the glorious power of the Lord 
wonderfully rose, yea, after an awful manner, and had a 
deep entrance upon their spirits, especially the Countess's, 
so that she was broken to pieces. God hath raised, and 
1 hope fixed, his own testimony in them. 

We returned to our inn, and after dinner we came back 
to the second meeting on that day ; and, truly, the rever- 
ent, blessed, sure word of life was divided aright, and a 
precious sense of Truth was raised in the meeting. 

Next morning about eight o'clock we returned to the 
court, where the Princess and Countess were ready to 
receive us. The morning was employed in a very serious 
relation, concerning the affairs, practice, and sufferings of 
our friends in England, with which they seemed greatly 
affected, when, about the eleventh hour, the rattling of a 
coach interrupted us. The Countess immediately stepped 
out to see what was the matter, and returned with a 



192 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

countenance somewhat uneasy, telling us that the young 
princes, nephews to the Princess, and the Graef of Donau 
were come to visit her. Upon which I told them we 
should withdraw and return to our lodging ; but entreated 
that, forasmuch as we were to depart that night with the 
post-wagon, we might not be disappointed of a farewell 
meeting with them ; and the rather, for that I had a great 
burden upon my spirit ; which they readily complied with, 
telling me these persons would only dine and be gone. 
As we went to the door, the Countess stepped before us, 
and opened it for us ; and as I passed by she looked upon 
me with a weighty countenance, and fetched a deep sigh, 
crying out, " 0, the cumber and entanglements of this 
vain world! they hinder all good." Upon which I re- 
plied, looking her steadfastly in the face, *' 0, come thou 
out of them then ! " 

After we had dined at our lodging, came the steward 
of the house of the Princess with the message that the 
Graef of Donau had a great desire to see us and to speak 
with us. This brought a fresh weight and exercise upon 
us ; but, committing all to the Lord, and casting our care 
upon Him, we went. 

Being arrived, the Graef approached us in French. At 
first he took no great notice of our unceremonious beha- 
vior, but proceeded to inquire of our success in our jour- 
ney, and what we found answering our journey and in- 
clinations. Then we fell to points of religion, and the 
nature and end of true Christianity, and what is the way 
that leadcth to the eternal rest. After some short debate 
about complete sanctification in this life, we both agreed 
that self-denial, mortification, and victory was the duty, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 193 

and therefore ought to be the endeavor, of every sincere 
Christian. 

From this I fell to give him some account of my re- 
treat from the world, and the inducements I had thereto, 
and the necessity of an inward work, with which he 
seemed much pleased. After this he fell to the hat, etc. 
The Lord enabled me to open the thing to him, as that it 
was no plant of God's planting, but a weed of degeneracy 
and apostasy, a carnal and earthly honor, the effect, feeder, 
and pleaser of pride and of a vain mind, and that no ad- 
vantage redounded to mankind by it ; and how could they, 
who ought to do all to the glory of God, use that vain 
and unprofitable custom, which cannot be done to the 
glory of God ? I entreated him seriously to consider 
with himself the rise and end of it — w^hence it came, what 
it pleased, and what that was wiiich was angry if it had 
it not. 

I also told him of the sincere, and serviceable respect 
which Truth substituteth in place thereof; and I exhorted 
him to simplicity and poverty of spirit ; to be like that 
Jesus whom he professed to be his Saviour, whose outside, 
as well as doctrine, pleased not the Jews ; and so we 
parted. He took his leave of the Princess, and then- of 
us, with great civility. 

After he was gone we began our farewell meeting. The 
thing lay weighty upon me, and that in the deep dread of 
the Lord ; and magnified be the name of the Lord, He 
overshadowed us with his glory. His heavenly breaking, 
dissolving power richly flowed amongst us, and his min- 
istering angel of life was in the midst of us. Let my sou' 
never forget the divine sense that overw^helmed all. 
17 N 



194 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

We went to our lodging, cleared the house, exhorted 
the family, left books, and then took wagon for Wesel, 
about two hundred English miles from Herwerden. We 
rode three nights and days without lying down on a bed 
or sleeping, otherwise than in the wagon, which was only 
covered with an old ragged sheet. The company we had 
with us made twelve in number, which much straitened 
us. They were often, if not always, vain, even in their 
religious songs, wliich is the fashion of that country, 
especially by night. They call them Luther's songs, and 
sometimes psalms. We were forced often to reprove and 
testify against their hypocrisy. To be full of vain and 
often profane talk one hour, and sing psalms to God the 
next, we showed them the deceit and abomination of. We 
passed through several great towns by the way, Lipstadt, 
Ham, etc. Many discourses we- had of Truth, and the re- 
ligion and worship that was truly Christian, and all w^as 
very well. They bore what we said. But one thing was 
remarkable, that may not be omitted. I had not been six 
hours in the wagon before an heavy weight and unusual 
oppression fell upon me ; yea, it weighed me almost to the 
grave, that I could almost say, my soul was sad even 
unto death. I knew not at present the ground of this 
exercise ; it remained about twenty-four hours upon me. 
Then it opened in me, that it was a travail for the seed 
of God, that H might arise over all in them I had left 
behind, and that nothing might be lost but the son of 
perdition. Oh, the strong cries and deep agonies, many 
tears and sincere bowings and humblings of soul before 
the Lord that his holy sense, which was raised in them, 
might be preserved alive in them, and they forever in it; 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 195 

that they might grow and spread, as heavenly plants of 
righteousness, to the glory of the name of the Lord. 

The narrative from the 2tth of the Seventh month to 
the 9th of the Eighth month inclusive, is inserted iu the 
following letter to the Countess of Homes : 

"For Anna 3faria de Homes, styled Countess of Homes, 
at Herwerden, in Germany. 

"My Dear Friend: — Oh, that thou mayst forever 
dwell in the sweet and tender sense of that Divine love 
and life which hath visited thy soul, affected and overcome 
thy heart. Oh, tell me, hath it not sometimes raised thy 
spirit above the world, and filled thee with fervent and 
passionate desires, yea, holy resolutions to follow Jesus, 
thy blessed Saviour, who hath given his most precious 
blood for thee, that thou shouldst not live to thyself, but 
tr Him that hath so dearly purchased thee ? 

" Oh, the retired, humble, reverent frame I have beheld 
thee in, when this blessed life hath drawn thee into itself, 
and adorned and seasoned thee with its own heavenly vir- 
tue. Oh, that this holy and chaste life may be always pre- 
cious with thee, and that thou mayst be forever chastely 
kept in the love and fellowship of it. 

''My dear beloved friend, be steadfast, immovable, 
without wavering, and work out thy great salvation with 
fear and treaibling, and lose not that sweet and precious 
sense which the Lord hath begotten in thee. It is soon 
lost, at least weakened, but hard to recover. Wherefore, 
let not the spirit of the world in any of its . appearances, 
vain company, unnecessary discourse or w^ords, or worldly 
affairs prevail upon the civility of thy nature, for they 



196 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

will oppress the innocent life and bring grievous weights 
and burdens upon thy soul, and prolong the coming of the 
Lord, whom thou lookest for, and put the day of thy re- 
demption afar off. Oh, beware of this compliance. Let 
me put thee in mind of that sensible resolution, so fre- 
quently and so passionately repeated by thee : ' II faut que 
je rompe. II faut que je rompe.' Ah, this speaketh a 
w^eight, this weight a sense, and this sense a strong con- 
viction. Now, be assured, that till obedience be yielded 
to that present manifestation and conviction, the good 
things desired and thirsted after can never be enjoyed. 

" Wherefore, my dear friend, be faithful, and watch 
against the workings of the spirit of this world in thyself, 
that the nature and image of it in all things may be cruci- 
fied, that thou mayst know an entire translation, with 
holy Enoch, and walk with God. Jesus, the holy Light, 
is this power of God that killeth and maketh alive ; and He 
is the heavenly vine, too ; if thou abidest in Him thou wilt 
bring forth fruit ; but if thou abidest not in Him, thou wilt 
not bring forth that fruit in which his heavenly Father 
only can be glorified. 

" Once more let me expostulate with thee. Wouldst 
thou overcome the enemies of thy soul's peace, and enjoy 
the delightful presence of the Lord with thee? Then 
keep nothing back ; let nothing be withheld that He calleth 
for. blessed are they that make no bargains for them- 
selves ; that have no reserves for self, neither consult with 
flesh and blood ; but that submit their wills in all things 
to the Lord's, that they may be made perfect through 
Bufferings. 

*' At Dusseldorf we sent for N , who came to us, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 197 

and three more in company. We had a blessed meeting 
with them, and with one of the three that came with him 
our souls were exceedingly affected. 

*' The meeting done, they went away, but N re- 
turned. The young man hath a zeal for God, and there 
is a visitation upon him ; my soul desireth that it may not 
be ineffectual ; but I have a great fear upon me. For this 
I know certainly from the Lord God that liveth for ever, 
and I have a cloud of witnesses to my brethren, that re- 
tirement and silence before God is the alone way for him 
to feel the heavenly gift to arise, and come forth pure and 
unmixed. This only can aright preach for God, pray to 
God, and beget people to God, and nothing else. But 
alas! his office in that family is quite another thing; 
namely, to perform set duties at fixed times ; pray, preach, 
and sing, and that in the way of the world's appointments. 
His very office is Babylonish, namely, a chaplain ; for it 
is a popish invention. 

" In the good old times, godly Abraham who was a 
prince, and Joshua a great general, and David a king, 
with many more, instructed their families in the knowl- 
edge and fear of God ; but now people are too idle or too 
great to pray for themselves, and so they worship God by 
proxy. How can a minister of the Gospel be at the beck 
of any mortal living, or give his soul and conscience to 
the time and appointment of another ? The thing in it- 
self is utterly wrong, and against the very nature and 
worship of the new and everlasting covenant. And I 
have a deep sense upon my soul, that if the young man 
strive beyond the talent God hath given him, to answer 
his office and fill up his place, and wait not for the Dure 
17* 



198 TASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

and living word of God in his heart to open liis mouth, 
but either studieth for his sermons, or speaketh his own 
words, he will be utterly ruined. 

''Wherefore, dear friend, have a care thou art no snare 
to him, nor he to tho3 1 Man's works smother and stifle the 
true life of Christ. What have you now to do, but to look 
to Jesus, the author of the holy desires that are in you, who 
himself hath visited you. Tempt not the Lord, provoke 
not God. What should any man preach from, but Christ ? 
And what should he preach people to, but Christ in them, 
the hope of likny ? Consider, nothing- feedeth that which 
is born of God, but that which cometh down from God, 
even the bread of God, which is the Son of God, who 
giveth his life for the world. Feel it, and feed on it ; let 
none mock God, or grieve his Eternal Spirit, who is come 
to seal them up from the mouth of man, who hath de- 
ceived them, that Jesus the anointing may teach them 
and abide with them forever. 

'' Be steadfast and immovable ; and this will draw the 
young man nearer to the Lord, and empty him of him- 
self, and purge away mixtures ; and then you will all 
come to the Divine silence. And when all flesh is silent 
before the Lord, then is it the Lord's time to speak, and 
if you will hear, your souls shall live. 

" The Lord Jesus be with thy spirit, and keep thee jn this 
the hour of thy temptation, that thou mayst come forth 
as gold seven times tried ; so shall thy testimony shine 
for the God that hath called thee, and He will reward thee 
with honor, glory, and eternal life. Amen. 

" Thy friend, that faithfully travailcth for thy redemption, 

WiLLTAM PeNN. 

"Amsterdam, the 10th of the Eighth month, 1077." 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 199 

[Returning home from Germany, he says :] I wont to 
Worminghurst, my house in Sussex, where I found my 
dear wife, child, and family all well : blessed be the name 
of the Lord God of all the families of the earth. I had 
that evening a sweet meeting amongst them ; in which 
God's blessed power made us truly glad together ; and I 
can say, truly blessed are they who cheerfully give up to 
serve the Lord : great shall be the increase and growth 
of their treasure, which shall never end. 

The narrative of this journey, and of the interesting 
interviews he had with many persons eminent for their 
talents, learning, or social positioir, is almost the only 
autobiography which William Penn has Ic^. The fore- 
going extracts from it furnish only a partial view of the 
industry and fervor with which he prosecuted his religious 
services. This extensive journey was accomplished in 
about three months, during which time, in addition to 
the numerous religious meetings and conferences which 
he held, and the distances traversed, sometimes on foot, 
at others in the tardy conveyances of that day, his letters 
and epistles occupy about sixty-five folio pages in his 
printed works. Yet, at a subsequent period of his life, 
he expressed a belief that if he had then had his time to live 
over again, he could with God's grace, not only serve Him, 
but his neighbor and himself, better than he had done, 
and have seven years to spare. If we are to consider the 
portion of his life which he has so minutely described as 
a specimen of the rest, it is not easy to perceive out of 
what portion of it these seven years could have been ob* 
tained. 



200 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 



IX. 

SOME very severe laws had been enacted again-^t 
the Roman Catholics by the British Parliament in 
1582 ; one of v/hich imposed a fine of twenty pounds a 
month for absence from the parish churches on the days 
appointed for Divine worship, and another passed shortly 
after the discovery of the gunpowder treason, in 1605, 
made it optional with the king whether he should exact 
twenty pounds a month, or all the personal and two- 
thirds of the real estate of the offender. The persecutors 
of Friends failing in their efforts to repress the rising So- 
ciety by the cruel measures they had heretofore taken, had 
recourse to these laws, which answered the double purpose 
of grievously oppressing Priends and putting money into 
the pockets of their oppressors. 

In the beginning of the year 1618, Parliament having 
the laws against popery under consideration, a proposal 
was made to insert a clause in the bill in favor of those 
who should take an oath and subscribe a declaration of 
a prescribed form. As the conditions upon which this 
distinguishing clause was to be rendered available, could 
not be complied with by Friends, it was concluded to 
make a representation of their case to the two houses of 
Parliament. One was accordingly prepared, drawn up 
probably by William Penn, in which the hardships they 
had endured by the operation of laws which were not 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 201 

intended to apply to them or to persons of their charac- 
ters, were briefly yet forcibly stated. Their inability to 
avail themselves of the proffered distinction, was shown 
to arise from their conscientious objection to oaths, and 
not from an unwillingness to subscribe the required dec- 
laration if reduced to an unexceptionable form. They 
therefore requested that their word might be admitted in- 
stead of the oath, with the condition annexed, that in 
case of violating it, they should suffer the penalties of 
perjury. 

On the 22d of the First month, William Penn was ad- 
mitted before a committee of Parliament, and in the course 
of his address, said : 

" That which giveth me a more than ordinary right to 
speak at this time and in this place, is the great abuse that 
I have received above any other of my profession ; for of 
a long time I have not only been supposed a Papist, but 
a Seminary, a Jesuit, an emissary of Rome, and in pay 
from the pope, a man dedicating my endeavors to the in- 
terest and advancement of that party. Nor hath this 
been the report of the rabble, but the jealousy and insin- 
uation of persons otherwise sober and discreet. Nay, 
some zealous for the Protestant religion have been so far 
gone in this mistake, as not only to think ill of us and to 
decline our conversation, but to take courage to themselves 
to prosecute us for a sort of concealed Papists ; and the 
truth is, what with one thing, and what with another, we 
have been as the wool-sacks and common whipping-stock 
of the kingdom. All laws have been let loose upon us, 
as if the design were not to reform, but to destroy us, and 
that not for what we are, but for what we are not It ia 



202 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

hard that we must thus bear the stripes of another interest, 
and be their proxy in punishment ; but it is worse that some 
men can please themselves in such a sort of administra 
tion. 

" I would not be mistaken. I am far from thinking it 
fit that Papists should be whipped for their consciences, 
because I exclaim against the injustice of whipping Quak- 
ers for Papists. No, for though the hand pretended to bo 
lifted up against them hath, I know not by what discre- 
tion, lit heavily upon us, and we complain, yet we do not 
mean that any should take a fresh aim at them, or that 
they must come in our room. We mu^t give the lib- 
erty we ask, and cannot bo false to our principles, though 
it were to relieve ourselves, for we have good-will to all 
men, and would have none suffer for a truly sober and 
conscientious dissent on any hand." 

He subsequently made to this committee a second 
speech, of which we give a part : 

" I was bred a Protestant, and that strictly, too. I lost 
nothing by time or study ; for years, reading, travel, and 
observation made the religion of my education the religion 
of my judgment. I do tell you again, and here solemnly 
declare in the presence of Almighty God, and before you 
all, that the profession I now make, and the society I now 
adhere to, have been so far from altering that Protestant 
judgment I had, that I am not conscious to myself of 
having receded from an iota of any one principle main- 
tained by those first Protestants and reformers of Ger- 
many, and our own martyrs at home, against the pope 
and see of Rome. 

" On the contrary, 1 do with great truth assure you 



or WILLIAM PENN. 203 

that we are of the same negative faith with the ancient 
Pfotestant church, and upon occasion shall be ready, by- 
God's assistance, to make it appear that we are of the same 
belief as to the most fundamental, positive articles of her 
creed, too. And therefore it is we think it hard, that though 
we deny in common with her those doctrines of Rome so 
zealously protested against (from whence the name Protes- 
tants), yet that we should be so unhappy as to suffer, and 
that with extreme severity, by those very laws on purpose 
made against the maintainors of those doctrines we do so 
deny. We choose no suffering, for God knows what we 
have already suffered, and how many sufficient and trading 
families are reduced to great poverty by it. "We think 
ourselves a useful people. We are sure we are a peaceable 
people ; yet if we must still suffer, let us not suffer as 
Popish recusants, but as Protestant dissenters. 

" But I would obviate another objection, and that none 
of the least that hath been made against us, viz., that we 
are enemies to government in general, and particularly 
disaffected to this we live under. I think it not amiss, 
but very seasonable, yea, my duty now to declare to you, 
and that I do with good conscience in the sight of Al- 
mighty God, first, that we believe government to be God's 
ordinance, and ,next, that this present government is es- 
tablished by the providence of God and law of the land, 
and that it is our Christian duty readily to obey it in all 
its just laws; and wherein we cannot comply through ten- 
derness of conscience, in all such cases not to revile or con- 
spire against the government, but with Christian humility 
and patience tire out all mistakes about us, and wait their 
better inforn ation, who, we believe, do as undeservedly 



204 PASSAGES FTvOM THE LIFE 

as severely treat us; and I know not what greater security 
can be given by any people, or how any government can 
be easier from the subjects of it." 

This application was so far successful that the committee 
inserted, in the bill then depending before them, a clause 
granting relief in the case, which passed the House of 
Commons ; but before it had passed the House of Lords, 
tbe Parliament was suddenly prorogued, and the bill lost. 

The people of England were about this time thrown 
into great consternation by the pretended disclosures of 
Titus Gates and others in regard to a Popish plot. How- 
ever destitute of truth those disclosures and the rumors to 
which they gave birth must now appear, they were prob- 
ably considered at that time, by the generality of the 
people, as having at least some foundation in truth. 

To prevent his friends in religious profession from being 
drawn into the popular excitement, and from their accus- 
tomed reliance on Divine protection, William' Penn wrote 
an epistle, directed to '' the children of light in this gener- 
ation." 

He earnestly exhorted them to flee from the spirit and 
cares of the world to their watch-tower, which is the 
name of the Lord. A living, spiritual name, a strong 
tow^er, a peaceable habitation, where they should rest in 
safety while darkness and confusion prevailed in the 
world. He particularly cautioned them against mingling 
with the crowd, lest they should imbibe the spirit of the 
world instead of diffusing their spirit into the people. 
"They," said he, "must come to us, we must not go to 
them. Yet we cannot be insensible of their infirmities, 
as well as we shall not be free from some of their suffer- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 205 

Ings. We must make their case as our own, and travail 
alike in spirit for them as for ourselves. Let us stand in 
the counsel of our God, and He will make us preachers to 
them of the work of his divine power, and the virtue of 
that faith which comes from heaven ; that they may come 
to know the holy law and word of the Lord in their hearts, 
and have their minds turned to Him and stayed upon Him, 
that iniquity may no mora iibound, nor un;^odliness find a 
place. But that in truth, righteousness, and peace they 
may be established, and the land keep its sabbath to the 
Lord forever." 

In the year 1679, as the nation was still in commotion, 
and great apprehensions were entertained of designs being 
on foot for the subversion of the Protestant religion and 
the introduction' of Popery, he wrote and published an 
"Address to Protestants," in which he exposed the 
vices which prevailed in church and state, and labored 
to excite the people to repentance and amendment of life, 
as the most effectual means of allaying their fears and 
preventing the impending evils. 

Having expostulated with them on account of the evils 
which prevailed in civil society, he proceeds in the second 
f>art of his address to treat of those which relate to the 
ecclesiastical state of those kingdoms. In this part five 
capital evils are noted. 

" First. Making opinions articles of faith ; at least, giv- 
ing them the reputation of faith, and making them the 
bond of Christian society. 

" Second. Mistaking the nature of true faith, and taking 
that for faith which is not gospel faith. 

" Third. Debasing the true value of morality under the 
18 



206 PASSAGES FROM- TPIE LIFE 

pretence of higher things, mistaking much of the end of 
Christ's coming. 

Fourth. Preferring human authority above reason and 
truth. 

Fifth. Propagating faith by force, and imposing religion 
by worldly compulsion. 

Under the first division he censures and exposes the 
practice of expounding a belief on religious subjects, in 
terms which are neither scriptural nor fairly deducible 
from the Scriptures of Truth, and. requiring an assent to 
such exposition as the condition of Christian communion. 
Showing that inasmuch as the Scriptures were given by 
Divine inspiration, and holy men gave them forth as they 
were moved by the Holy Ghost, the language in which 
they were given is to be preferred to any exposition w^hich 
can be framed by men who are not endued with a like in- 
spiration. 

Under the second head it is stated that a mere assent of 
the understanding to the truth and authority of the his- 
tory and doctrines of Scripture, is not that true and living 
faith which is "the saint's victory over the world. But, as 
defined by the apostle, faith "is the substance of things 
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." '' True faith 
in God," says William Penn, "is entirely believing and 
trusting in God, confiding in his goodness, resigning up to 
his will, obeying his commands, and relying upon his con- 
duct and mercies, respecting this life and that which is to 
come. This faith that works by love, that Divine love which 
God places in the heart, it draws and inclines man, and 
gives him power to forsake all that displeaseth God. What 
of the Christian dispensation is so peculiar and important 



OF WILLIAM PENN. , 207 

as to challenge of right the name of creed or faith ? I say, 
then, that the belief of Jesus of Nazareth to be the prom- 
ised Messiah, the Son and Christ of God, come and sent 
of God to restore and save mankind is the first, and was 
then the only requisite article of faith,- without any large 
confessions, or an heap of principles or opinions resolved 
upon after curious and tedious debates by councils and 
synods." 

Of this, the testimony of the beloved disciple is ad- 
duced as one conclusive argument. " These things are 
written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the 
Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through 
his name." This belief, it is observed, fully and sincerely 
admitted, necessarily leads to an assent to the doctrines of " 
Christ, and to the precepts which He taught. And these 
precepts include the moral and religious duty of man. 
Hence, "as Christ is the rock on which true Christians 
build, so none can be truly said to build on this Rock 
but those that keep his sayings, that do his command- 
ments, that obey his doctrine. Wherefore that faith, of 
Jesus to be the Son and Christ of God, must be such a 
faith as does the will of the heavenly Father, and keepeth 
the sayings of Christ. 

" Those, therefore, that would obtain this precious faith 
that overcomes the world, must embrace the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, by which this faith is begotten ; and 
they who believe not in this grace, nor receive it in the 
love of it, nor give themselves up to be taught and led by 
it, can never be said truly to believe in Him from whom it 
comes, any more than the Jews may be said to Ixilieve in 
God, when they rejected Him that came from 3od, even 



208 P.ASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

his beloved Son. He that denies the measure, can never 
own or receive the fulness. John bears record that He 
was full of grace and truth, and that of his fulness they 
had all received, and grace for grace. For the law was 
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus 
Christ. So that it is utterly impossible for a man to be- 
lieve in Christ and not to be taught and led by the grace 
that comes from Him and by Him." 

In concluding this division, he says : " I do fervently 
beseech Almighty God, the giver of all saving faith, mer- 
cifully to vouchsafe, more and more, to beget a serious 
inquiry in us, what that faith is which we have ? who is 
the author of it ? and what fruits it hath brought forth ? 
*that so we may not profane the name of God by a vain 
profession of it, nor abuse ourselves unto eternal perdition. 
But that we may endeavor, by God's assistance, to approve 
ourselves such believers as sincerely fear God, love right- 
eousness, and hate every evil way, as becomes the re- 
deemed of God by the precious blood of his Son. Since, 
therefore, we are not our own, but the Lord's, who hath 
bought us with that great price, let us glorify Him in our 
bodies, in our souls, and in our spirits, which are his. 
Then shall we be children of Abraham indeed, heirs of 
the promises, partakers of that resurrection and life, that 
immortality and glory which God, the righteous Judge, 
will one day plentifully distribute to them that abide in 
this precious faith unto the end." 

Under the third head he defines his moral man to be one 
that does to all men as he would have all men to do to 
him, and from this he argues that Christian morality is 
the fruit of a sound practical belief in Christ, and in the 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 209 

doctrines which He taught. In regard to tlie end and 
design of Christ's coming into the world, it is laid down 
that He came to save his people from their sins ; not 
merely to take away the guilt by his propitiatory sacrifice 
on the cross, but to redeem from the nature of sin by the 
power of his Spirit, and to establish an actual righteousness. ^ 

Under the fourth head is noticed the great power of the 
clergy, and the people's reliance upon them for the knowl- 
edge of religion and the way of life and salvation. The 
clergy were thus become a sort of mediators between 
Christ and the people. This implicit faith and blind 
obedience to the opinions of others, is noted as a species 
of popery which Protestants are particularly required to 
examine and avoid. 

The author declares that every Christian ought to be- 
lieve as the church believes, provided the church is right. 
But the church is defined to be a congregation or company 
of people agreed together in the sincere profession and 
obedience of the Gospel of Christ. The rule then which 
they jointly have for their belief, is the rule of each indi- 
vidual. jS'ow the great foundation of the Protestant re- 
ligion, is the Divine authority of the Scriptures without 
us, and the testimony and illumination of the Holy Spirit 
within us. Upon this ground the first reformers made 
and supported their separation from the Church of Rome. 
Hence Protestant . writers agree that neither traditions, 
councils, nor canons of any visible church, much less the 
edicts of any civil jurisdiction, but the Scriptures only, 
interpreted by the Holy Spirit in us, give the final de- 
termination in matters of religion, and that only in the 
conscience of every Christian to himself. 
18* O 



210 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Under the last head our author notices, with just dis- 
approbation, the persecutions on account of dissent from 
the national mode of worship which prevailed in the days 
of Elizabeth and her two immediate successors, and more 
particularly those of their own times, in which many fami- 
lies had been reduced to poverty — not a bed left in the 
house, not a cow in the field, nor any grain in the barn. 
Widows and orphans stripped without pity, and no regard 
paid to age or sex. And all this for no offence except 
peaceably meeting to worship God in a manner different 
from that prescribed by the Protestant authorities of the 
day. 

This address, which occupies about one hundred pages 
in our author's folio works, closes in the following terms : 

" God Almighty open our understandings and hearts, 
and pour out the spirit of thorough reformation upon us ; 
for it is in the spirit and not in the words of reformation 
that the life and prosperity of reformation stands." 

The Parliament, which had continued about eighteen 
years, having been dissolved and w^rits issued for the 
election of a new one, great excitement prevailed among 
the people, and strenuous efforts were made by the opposing 
paties to secure the ascendency. On this occasion William 
Penn addressed a communication to the freeholders and 
electors of the kingdom, entitled '' England's great Interest 
in the Choice of this Parliament." 

He states the great importance of choosing " wise men, 
fearing God and hating covetousncss." " We must," he 
says, " not make our public choice the recompense of 
private favors from our neighbors." " They should be 
honest and capable ; men of industry and improvement ; 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 211 

possessed of liberal principles, and sincerely attached to 
the Protestant religion ; for implicit faith and blind obedi- 
ence in religion will also introduce implicit faith and blind 
obedience in government. So that it is no more the law 
in the one than in the other, but tlie will and power of the 
superior that shall be the rule and bond of our subjection. 
This is that fatal mischief popery brings with it to civil 
society, and for which such societies ought to bcAvare of it, 
and all those that are friends to it." 

Besides communicating this address to the electors he 
used considerable efforts to procure the election of his 
friend, Algernon Sidney, whom he esteemed for his talents 
and character. The arbitrary measures of the court, and 
the unrelenting rigor with which dissenters, both in church 
and state, were prosecuted, appeared to demand the re- 
straining hand of statesmen of firm and liberal minds. 
Men of that character were those whom he recommended 
to the electors of England; and such an one he thought 
he discerned in Algernon Sidney ; his efforts, however, 
were not successful, and his friend did not obtain a seat in 
the national legislature, having been defeated by unfair 
means, as appears by a letter written to him immediately 
afterwards by William Penn, in which he says, " Thou, as 
thy friends, had a conscientious regard for England ; and 
to be put aside by such base ways is really a suffering foi 
righteousness. Thou hast embarked thyself with them 
that seek and love and choose the best things ; and number 
is not weight with thee. I hope it is retrievable ; for to 
me it looks not a fair and clear election." The efforts of 
William Penn to promote his election may be considered 
as a complete refutation of the charge, so frequently and 



212 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

recklessly advanced, of his subserviency to the interests of 
popery and arbitrary power. For Sidney was a man of 
liberal, if not republican, principles, and fell, a few years 
afterwards, a sacrifice to the jealousy of the dominant 
party. 

The elections having taken place, and the Parliament 
having at length been returned, William Penn published 
a book which he addressed to it under the title of " One 
Project for the Good of England — that is. Our Civil Union 
is our Civil Safety." He maintained that all English 
Protestants, w^hether Conformists or Non-conformists, 
agreed in this, that they owed allegiance and subjection 
to the civil government of England alone ; whereas the 
Catholics, owning another temporal power as superior to 
the government they properly belonged to, made them- 
selves the subjects, not of the government under which 
they were born, but of the government of the pope. 
Hence, whatever restrictions the existing Parliament 
might think it right to put upon the latter, it was its duty 
to maintain the civil interest entire, as it related to church- 
men and dissenters ; for, it being to the advantage of both 
that the pope should have no dominion in England, the 
church-Protestant could not injure the dissenting Protest- 
ant without weakening and destroying his own civil 
interest. Having discoursed largel}^ upon this principle, 
he proposed as his one project a certain public declaration 
or test by which all Protestant dissenters might be enabled 
to show that they were not Catholics. This declaration, 
which he drew up himself, denied the pope's right to 
depose any sovereign, or absolve the subjects of such 
sovereign from their allegiance. It denied him to be 



OP WILLIAM PEN23-. 213 

Christ's Vicar. It denied a purgatory after death, tran- 
substantiation in the Lord's Supper, and the lawfulness 
and efficacy of prayers to saints and images. The decla- 
ration was to be made in all the towns and parishes on a 
certain day. Every abuse of this declaration was to be 
punished. In stating this, his project, however, he never 
spoke of the Catholics so as to call in question their re- 
ligious rights. His only object was to show that church- 
men and Protestant dissenters having the same civil 
interest in the government of England, the one ought not 
to oppress the other, and particularly for shades of differ- 
ence as to their religious faith. 



214 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 



X. 

IN" the year 1675, William Penn was engaged in an ar- 
bitration between John Fenwick and Edward Byllinge, 
two members of his own religious society, who had pur- 
chased of Lord Berkeley his half share of 'New Jersey in 
North America. Having well considered the case, he had 
made his award ; but Fenwick refused to abide by it. 
This gave him great uneasiness, and produced from him 
the following friendly letter : 

*' John Fenwick ! — The present difference betwixt thee 
and Edward Byllinge fills the hearts of Friends with 
grief, and with a resolution to take it in two days intjp 
their consideration to make a public denial of the person 
that offers violence to the award made, or that will not end 
it without bringing it upon the public stage. God, the 
righteous judge, will visit him that stands off. Edward 
Byllinge will refer the matter to me again, if thou wilt 
do the like. Send me w^ord, and, as opprest as I am with 
business, I will find an afternoon to-morrow or next day 
to determine, and so prevent the mischief that will 
certainly follow divulging it in Westminster-hall. Let 
me know by the bearer thy mind. John ! let Truth 
and the honor of it in this day prevail ! Woe to him that 
causeth offences I I am an impartial man. 

William Penn." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 215 

This letter in about ten days was followed by a second, 
in which he could not help rebuking Fenwick on account 
of his conduct. He stated, however, that the original of 
the dispute reflected upon both parties, and, what was 
worse, upon Truth, that is, upon their religious profession 
as Friends, 

In thirteen days he wrote another letter, as follows : 

''John Fenwick! — I have upon serious consideration 
of the present difference (to end it with benefit to you 
both, and as much quiet as may be), thought my counsel's 
opinion very reasonable ; indeed, thy own desire to have 
the eight parts added, was not so pleasant to the other 
party that it should now be shrunk from by thee as in- 
jurious; and when thou hast once thought a proposal 
reasonable, and given power to another to fix it, 'tis not 
in thy power, nor indeed a discreet or civil thing, to alter 
or warp from it, and call it being forced. John I I am 
'sorry that a toy, a trifle, should thus rob men of their 
time, quiet, and a more profitable employ. I have had a 
good conscience in what I have done in this affair, and if 
thou reposest confidence in me, and believest me to be a 
good and just man, as thou hast said, thou shouldst not 
be upon such nicety and uncertainty. Away with vain 
fancies, I beseech thee, and fall closely to thy business. 
Thy days spend on, and make the best of what thou hast. 
Thy grand-children may be in the other world, before the 
land thou hast allotted will bo employed. My counsel, 1 
will answer for it, shall do thee all right and service in 
the affair that becomes him, who, I told thee at first, 



216 PASSAGES FEOM TPIE LIFE 

should draw it up as for myself. If this cannot scatter 
thy fears, thou art unhappy, and I am sorry. 

"Thy Friend. William Penn." 

In the year 16t6, William Penn came accidentally into 
the situation of a manager of colonial concerns in New 
Jersey in North America, a situation not only important 
in itself, but which produced the most important results ; 
for, by being concerned there he was by degrees led to, 
and fitted for, the formation of a colony of his own. Lord 
Berkeley, who was joint proprietor of New Jersey with 
Sir George Carteret, had in the preceding year sold his 
half share of it to John Penwick in trust for Edward 
Byllinge. It was on this subject that the dispute arose 
between the latter^ which William Penn has just been 
mentioned to have arbitrated, and which since that time 
he had by means of the most exemplary perseverance 
brought to an amicable issue. As soon as the adjust- 
ment took place, Penwick in company with his wife and 
family, and several Quakers, embarked for America in the 
ship Griffith. They landed at a " pleasant rich spot on the 
Delaware which they called Salem." Byllinge, however, 
who had been drained of his money by the purchase, and 
who since the sailing of Penwick had experienced mis- 
fortune, found himself unable to meet the pecuniary 
demands which were brought against him. He agreed, 
therefore, to deliver over his new property in trust for his 
creditors; but in consenting to do this, he had his eye 
fixed upon the friendly assistance of William Penn. He, 
therefore, applied to the latter with the most earnest en* 
treaty to become a joint trustee with Gawen Laurie, of 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 217 

Iiondon, and Nicholas Lucas, of Hertford, two of the said 
creditors, to carry his intention into effect. To this, but 
not till after much consideration, he assented. 

His new office requiring exertion, and this immediately, 
he was at once overwhelmed in business. The first thing 
he did in conjunction with the trustees, was to agree with 
Sir George Carteret upon a division of the province. 
They allotted to the latter the eastern part of it, which by 
this time was tolerably well peopled ; and the western, in 
which no settlements had yet been made, they took in be- 
half of Byllinge to themselves. From this time the 
former took the name of East, and the latter that of West 
New Jersey, the dividing line running " straight north 
from Egg- Harbor to the utmost branch of Delaware Kiver." 

This division having been made, they then subdivided 
their own portion into a hundred lots. Ten of these they 
gave to Fenwick as a repayment for time, trouble, and 
money advanced by him to Lord Berkeley, and the re- 
maining ninety they reserved for sale, for the benefit of 
the creditors of Byllinge. 

The next step was to form a Constitution for those who 
in consequence of purchase were to settle in the new land. 
This task, the most difficult, fell almost exclusively upon 
William Penn. He, therefore, drew up what he called 
Concessions, or terms of grant and agreement, which were 
to be mutually signed. The great outline of these may 
be comprehended in few words. The people were to meet 
annually to choose one honest man for each proprietary, 
who had signed the Concessions. They who were so 
chosen, were to sit in assembly. They were to make, 
alter, and repeal laws. They were also to choose a 
19 



218 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

governor, or commissioner, with twelve assistants, who 
were to execute these laws, but onlv during their pleasure. 
Every man was to be capable both of choosing and being 
chosen. No man was to be arrested, imprisoned, or con- 
demned in his estate or liberty, but by twelve men of the 
neighborhood. No man was to be imprisoned for debt ; 
but his estate was to satisfy his creditors as far as it 
would go, and then he was to be set at liberty to work 
again for himself and family. No man was to be in- 
terrupted or molested on account of the exercise of his 
religion. Such was the simple outline of the Concessions, 
"by an adherence to which he hoped that he had laid a 
foundation for those in after ages to understand their 
liberty both as men and Christians, and by an adherence 
to which they could never be brought into bondage but 
by their own consent." 

Having made these and other arrangements, he and his 
colleagues gave notice of the same in a public letter which 
they signed, and circulated through the kingdom. Through 
the medium of this, they particularly invited those who 
were of their own religious society to become the new 
settlers. They cautioned these, however, against leaving 
their country out of any idle curiosity, or rambling dispo- 
sition, or improper motive, or to the violation of the 
feelings of their kindred, or of their religious unity as 
Friends. To this caution they annexed " A Description 
of West New Jersey," of its climate, soil, and produce, 
in order that none might be deceived, or have occasion 
afterwards to repent of their undertaking. 

In the early part of 1GT7 William Penn continued to 
be employed an behalf of Byllinge. It appears thai he 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 219 

bad then left his house at Rickmansworth in Hertford- 
Bhiro and that he had established himself at Worming- 
hurst in Sussex. Here, then, in the calm retreat of the 
country, he took thought for the new colony. 

While at Worminghurst applications came to him, in 
consequence of the public letter which had been circulated, 
for shares in the new adventure, by which it appeared that 
there was a probability of disposing of a considerable 
portion of West New Jersey. He and his colleagues 
determined to appoint and send over commissioners, who 
should be empowered to purchase lands of the Indians, to 
examine the rights of such as might claim property in the 
new territory, to give directions for laying out the allot- 
ments there, and to administer, for the first year, the gov- 
ernment according to the spirit of the Concessions before 
mentioned. 

They resolved next to open proposals for the immediate 
sale of the lands. Among the purchasers were two com- 
panies, both consisting of members of the Society of 
Friends, one from London, the other from Yorkshire. 
These contracted for large shares, and had patents for 
them. The members of the Yorkshire company were 
principal creditors of Byllinge, and they received a tenth 
part of the whole land in consideration of their debts. 

The commissioners, with several of the proprietors and 
their families and servants, to the number of two hundred 
and thirty, embarked in the ship Kent, and landed where 
Burlington now stands, on the Delaware, above Phila- 
delphia. 
Witliin two years after the sailing of the ship Griffith, 



220 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

about eight hundred persons, mostly Friends, had been 
sent by the trustees to West New Jersey. 

In 1680 much dissatisfaction was caused in the colony 
by the exaction of a duty of ten per cent., laid by the 
government of New York, and renewed in the year 1669, 
on all imports and exports at Hoarkill, now Lewistown, 
at the mouth of the Delaware Bay. The settlers therefore 
complaining to the trustees of Billynge, William Penn felt 
himself called upon to take a part on the occasion. He was 
aware that, if he succeeded in getting rid of this tax, it 
would be to the detriment of his friend, the Duke of 
York, and that he might even offend him on this account ; 
but when he considered that his trusteeship involved in it 
a serious duty, and that the demands in question were 
unjust, he had no hesitation in pursuing the right path. 
Accordingly, in conjunction with the other trustees, he 
made a formal application to the duke on the subject. 
The duke referred the matter to the council. There it 
lay for some time. The council at length reported in 
favor of Billynge ; for William Penn had made it appear 
that Billynge had purchased the government of the coun- 
try with the soil ; that the country therefore ought not to 
be subject to any imposition of duties by the government 
of New York ; the Duke of York having granted all his 
right to the said country to the assigns of Lord Berkeley, 
and the latter to Billynge, in as ample a manner as it had 
been granted to the duke by the king. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 221 



XI. 

rpiIE important question to the Society of Friends, of 
JL the establishment and extent of the discipline, occa- 
sioning some diversity and even opposition of sentiments 
among them, William Penn wrote, in 1681, a small tract 
on this subject, in the way of question and answer, in 
which he explained the nature and extent of the authority 
which the church might justly exercise, and the obligation 
of the members to submit to that authority. This tract, 
entitled "A Brief Examination of Liberty Spiritual," 
is here inserted in part. 

Dear Friends and Brethren : — It hath of long time 
rested with some pressure upon my spirit, for Zion's sake 
and the peace of Jerusalem, to write something of the 
nature of true spiritual liberty ; liberty, one of the most 
glorious words and things in the world, but little under- 
stood, and frequently abused by many. I beseech Al- 
mighty God to preserve you, his people, in the right 
knowledge and use of that liberty which Jesus Christ, 
the Captain of our salvation, hath purchased for us and is 
redeeming us into, who hath led captivity captive, and is 
giving gifts to them that truly believe in his name. 

Question. What is true spiritual liberty ? 
Answer. Deliverance from sin by the perfect law in the 
19* 



222 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

heart, the perfect law of liberty, James ii., otherwise called, 
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, that makes 
free from the law of sin and death ; elsewhere styled, the 
law of Truth written in the heart, which makes free indeed, 
as saith Christ, If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be 
free indeed. In this blessed liberty, it is not the will nor 
wisdom of man, neither the vain affections and lusts that 
rule or give law to the soul. 

Q. What is false liberty ? 

A. A departing from this blessed Spirit of Truth, and 
a rebelling against this perfect law of liberty in the heart, 
and being at liberty to do our own wills. 

Q. But are there not some things wherein we ought to 
be left to our own freedom ? 

A. We are not our own, for we are bought with a price ; 
and in all things ought we to glorify God with our bodies, 
souls, and spirits, which are the Lord's. 

Q. But must we have a motion or command from the 
Spirit of Truth for all things that we do ? 

A. That may be according to the Truth, which may not 
be by the immediate motion or command of the Truth ; 
for that is according to the Truth, that is not against the 
mind of the Truth, either particularly or generally ex- 
pressed. The Truth commands me to do all to the praise 
and glory of God; but not that I should wait for a motion 
to do every particular thing. For example : The variety 
of actions in trading, commerce, and husbandry, the va- 
riety of flesh, fish, and fowl for food, with more of the same 
nature, in all which there is a choice and liberty, but still 
according to the Truth, and within the holy bounds and 
limits of it. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 223 

Q. Then it seems there are some things left to our 
freedom ? 

A. Yes; but it must still be according to the mind of 
God's Truth. There are things enjoined, such as relate 
to our duty to God, to our superiors, to the household of 
faith, and to all men and creatures ; these are indispensa- 
ble. There are also things that may be done or left un- 
done, which may be called indifferent ; as what sort of 
meat I will eat to-day, whether I will eat flesh, fish, or 
herbs, or what hours I will cat my meals at, with many 
such outward things of life and converse ; yet even in 
such cases I ought to act according to the Truth, in the 
temperance and wisdom of it. 

Q. But doth not freedom extend further than this ; for 
since God hath given me a manifestation of his Spirit to 
profit withal, and that I have the gift of God in myself, 
should I not be left to act according as I am free and per- 
suaded in my own mind, in the things that relate to God, 
lest looking upon myself as obliged by w^hat is revealed 
unto another, though it be not revealed unto me, I should 
be led out of my own measure, and act upon another's mo- 
tion, and so offer a blind sacrifice to God ? 

A. This is true in a sense, that is, if thou art such an 
one that canst do nothing against the Truth, then mayst 
thou safely be left to thy freedom in the things of God, 
and the reason is plain ; because thy freedom stands in the 
perfect law of liberty, in the law of the Spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus, and in the Truth, which is Christ Jesus, 
w^hich makes thee free indeed, that is, perfectly free from 
all that is bad, and perfectly free to all that is holy, just, 
lovely, honest, comely, and of good rej)ort; but if thou 



224 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

pleadest thv freedom against such things, yea, obstructest 
and slightest such good, wholesome, and requisite things, 
thy freedom is naught, dark, perverse, out of the Truth, 
and against the perfect law of love and liberty. 

Q. But must I conform to things whether I can receive 
them or no ? Ought I not to be left to the grace and spirit 
of God in my own heart ? 

A. To the first part of the question, Nay ; to the last, 
Yea. But now let us consider what is the reason thou 
canst not receive them. Is the fault in the things them- 
selves? Are they inconsistent with Truth, or will not 
the Truth own or assent unto them, or is the fault in 
thee ? That is to say, is it thy weakness or thy careless- 
ness ; if thy weakness, it is to be borne with, and to be 
informed ; if thy carelessness, thou oughtest to be admon- 
ished ; for it is a dangerous principle, and pernicious to 
true religion, and which is worse, it is the root of ranter- 
ism to assert. That nothing is a duty incumbent upon 
thee, but what thou art persuaded is thy duty : for the 
seared conscience pleads this liberty against all duty ; the 
dark conscience is here unconcerned ; the dead conscience 
is here uncondemned, unless this distinction be allowed 
of, that there may be an ignorance or an insensibility from 
inability or incapacity, or a dark education ; and an igno- 
rance and insensibility, from carelessness, disobedience, 
prejudice, etc. So that though thou art not to conform to 
a thing, ignorantly, yet thou art seriously to consider why 
thou art ignorant, and what the cause of such ignorance 
may be ; certainly it cannot be in God, nor in his gift to 
thee J it must then needs be in thyself, who hast not yet 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 225 

received a sense for or against the matter, about which 
thou art in doubt. 

To the second part of the question : Ought I not to be 
left to the grace of God in my own heart ? Answer, That 
is of all things most desirable, since they are well left who 
are left there ; for there is no fear of want of unity, where 
all are left with the one Spirit of Truth ; they must be of 
one mind, they cannot be otherwise. So that to plead this 
against unity, is to abuse the very plea, and to commit 
the greatest contradiction to that very doctrine of Scrip- 
ture, viz., That all should be guided by the grace and spirit 
of God in themselves ; for the end of that doctrine is cer- 
tainty. '' They shall all know me, saith the Lord, from 
the least to the greatest." "And I will give them one 
heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the 
good of them, and of their children after them." "And the 
multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of 
one soul." 

Q. But are there not various measures, diversities of 
gifts, and several offices in the body ? 

A. True ; but are not the members therefore of one 
mind, one will, and one judgment in common and univer- 
sal matters, especially relating to the family and church 
of God ? and indeed there cannot be a falser reasoning 
than to conclude discord from diversity, contrariety from 
variety. Well, say the holy Scriptures of Truth, there is 
but one God ; the Lord our God is but one Lord ; there is 
but one God and Father of all things (that are good) ; 
and there is but one Lord, one faith, and one baptism ; 
and bis light, life, and Spirit is at unity with itself in all; 
what comes from the light, life, or Spirit in one, it is the 

P 



226 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

same in truth arid unity to the rest, as if it did rise in 
themselves. This is seen in our assemblies every day, 
and will be throughout all generations in the church of 
God, among those that live in the loverly Truth, in which 
the pure sense and sound judgment stands; God is not 
the God of confusion, but order. Every one in his order 
is satisfied, hath unity and true fellowship with whatever 
comes from the life of God in another ; for this precious 
life reacheth throughout the heritage of God, and is the 
common life that giveth the common feeling and sense to 
the heritage of God. Degree or measure in the same life 
can never contradict or obstruct that which is from the 
same life for the common benefit of the family of God. 

Saith that beloved evangelist and apostle of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, They that walk in the light have fellowship 
one with another, 1 John i. Whence it is easy to conclude, 
they that go out of the fellowship go out of the Light ; but 
if they that walk in the Light have fellowship one with 
another, what shall we say of those that plead being left to 
the Light to justify their not having fellowship one with 
another ? and, which is yet worse, who suppose people may 
conscientiously and justifiably dissent within themselves, 
and that by reason of the variety of the degrees of the Spirit 
and grace that are given of God unto them ; as if the 
lesser degree may dissent from the greater, because of its 
not being able to comprehend it. The fallacy of all which 
lieth, as I said before, in not rightly distinguishing be- 
tween diversity and disagreement, variety and contrariety : 
for this diversity hath concord, and this variety hath unity. 
And it is a blindness that hath too much of late happened 
to some, by going from the one life and spirit of our Lord 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 227 

Jesus Christ, first to fall into disagreements, and then 
plead for it, under the notion of diversity of measures. 

They that have the mind of Christ are of one mind ; 
for Christ is not divided. They that have Christ for 
their head, have one counsellor and prophet, one seer and 
bishop ; they disagree not in their judgments in things re- 
lating to Him and the good of his church ; they have one 
•and the same guide ; for the one Spirit, into which they 
have all drank, and by it are baptized into one body, leads 
them all. Now to every member is a measure of the 
same Spirit given to profit with; and though every 
member is not an eye, nor an ear, nor a mouth, yet every 
member hath unity with the eye, with the ear,' with the 
mouth, and in their proper and respective acts, and they 
one with the other. The eye sees for the mouth, the 
mouth speaks for the eye, and the ear hears for both ; this 
variety hath no discord, but in this diversity of gifts and 
offices, each member is sensible of the other, and moves 
and acts by one and the same life, spirit, and guidance, 
which is omnipresent, proportionable to every member in 
its distinct office. 

It must be granted, that there are helps in the church, 
as well as that there is a church at all ; and the Holy 
Ghost has compared those helps, as is before mentioned, 
to several members and senses of man's body, as an eye, 
a hand, a foot, hearing, smelling, etc. All then cannot be 
the eye, neither can all be the hand, for then they would 
confound their office, and act disagreeably to the ordina- 
tion of the great orderer of his church. And if I will not 
comply with him that God hath made an eye, because I 
am not that eye, or a hand, because I am not that mem- 



228 PASSAGES FI^OM THE LIFE 

ber myself, nor a party to the action or performance of 
that member, I resist the Lord, though under pretence 
of resistiii'j man for the Lord's sake. And truly this is 
the rock that some of our own time, as well as persons of 
former ag-es, have split upon ; they have not been con- 
tented with their own station in the body, they have not 
kept to their own gift, nor been taken up with the duty 
of their own place in the church. If he that is a foot 
would be an hand, and the hand covets to be an eye, en- 
vying others their allotted station, through height of 
mind, and walking loose from the holy cross, there can be 
no such thing as concord and fellowship in the church of 
Christ. 

Q. But though this be true which hath been alleged 
for heavenly concord, yet what if I do not presently see 
that service in a thing which the rest of my brethren 
agree in ; in this case, what is my duty and theirs ? 

A. It is thy duty to wait upon God in silence and 
patience, out of all fleshly consultations; and as thou 
abidest in the simplicity of the Truth, thou wilt receive 
an understanding with the rest of thy brethren, about the 
thing doubted. And it is their duty, whilst thou behavest 
thyself in meekness' and humility, to bear with thjee, and 
carry themselves tenderly and in love towards thee ; but 
if, on the contrary, thou disturbest their godly care and 
practice, and growest contentious, and exaltest thy judg- 
ment against them, they have power fi:om God to exhort, 
admonish, and reprove thee ; and if 'thou perse verest 
therein, in his name to refuse any further fellowship with 
thee, till thou repentest of thy evil. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 229 

Q. What is the extent of the power of the church of 
Christ in case of schism or heresy ? 

A. The power that Christ gave to his church was this, 
that offenders, after the first and second admonition, not 
repenting', should be rejected. 

All these things have come to pass for want of humility, 
for want of the ancient fear and keeping in the quiet habi- 
tation of the just. The Truth in you all shall answer me. 
And this I affirm, from the understanding I have received 
of God, not only that the enemy is at work to scatter the 
minds of Friends, by that loose plea, What hast thou to 
do with me? Leave me to my freedom and to the grace 
of God in myself, and the like ; but this proposition and 
expression, as now understood and alleged, is a deviation 
from and a perversion of the ancient principle of Truth. 

For this is the plain consequence of this plea, if any 
one, especially if they are but lately convinced, shall say, 
I see no evil in paying tithes to hireling priests, in that 
they are not claimed by Divine right, but by the civil 
laws of the land ; I see no evil in marrying by the priest, 
for he is but a witness ; furthermore, I see no evil in de- 
clining a public testimony in suffering times, "or hiding in 
times of persecution, for I have Christ's and Paul's ex- 
amples ; I see no evil in worshipping and respecting the 
persons of men, for whatever others do, I intend a sin- 
cere notice that I take of those I know and have a good 
esteem for. Lastly, I see no evil in keeping my shop shut 
upon the world's holidays and massdays, as they call them, 
though they are rather lewdly and superstitiously than 
religiously kept, for I would not willingly give any 
offence to my neighbors; and since your testimony is 
20 



230 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

against imposition, and for leaving" every one to the meas- 
ure of grace which God hath given him, not only. No 
man hath power to reprove or judge me, but I may be as 
good a Friend as any of you, according to my measure. 
And now, here is measure set up against measure, which 
is confusion itself — Babel, indeed. 

This is the rock which both professors and profane 
would long since have run us upon, namely. That a way 
is hereby opened to all the world's libertines, to plead the 
light within for their excesses ; which indeed grieves the 
spirit of God, and was severely judged by our Friends in 
the beginning, and is still reproved by them that keep 
their habitation, though some are become as wandering 
stars through their own pride and the prevalency of the 
hour of temptation that hath overtaken them ; where- 
as had they kept in the channel of love and life, in the 
orbit and order of the celestial power, they had shined as 
stars in the firmament of God forever. 

The enemy, by these fair pretences, strikes at the godly 
care and travail which dwells upon the spirits of many 
faithful brethren, that all things might be preserved sweet, 
comely, virtuous, and of good report in the church of God. 
There never was greater necessity of this godly care than 
at this day, since we were a people, wherein the cross, by 
too many, is not so closely kept to as in days past, and in 
which there is not only a great convincement, but a young 
generation 'descended of Friends, who though they retain 
the form their education hath led them into, yet many of 
them adorn not the Gospel with that sensible, weighty, 
and heavenly con vers ition as becomes the children of the 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 231 

nndcfilcd religion, and the seed of that precious faith which 
works by the lo^'e that overcomes the world. 

Wherefore I wafn all that they have a care how they 
give way to the outcry of some, falsely entitled, Liberty 
of conscience against imposition, etc. Indeed, it is a great 
shame that any who have ever known the Truth of God in 
the inward parts, and the sweet society of brethren, espe- 
cially those who were early in the work of this blessed day 
and heavenly dispensation, should so far depart from the 
fear and awe of the Lord, as to use such unsavory as well 
as untrue expressions. This is very far from that meek 
spirit of Jesus which beareth all things, suffereth all 
things, and endureth all things, and teacheth to keep the 
word of patience in the hour of tribulation ; nay, but it is 
judging of spiritual things with a carnal and prejudiced 
mind, stumbling at the matter for the sake of the persons 
through whom it comes, not eying nor weighing the 
spirit the thing arises from, but the person by whom 
it is spoken, which darkens the eye of the understand- 
ing, and blinds, by prejudice, the mind that should dis- 
cern, taste, and judge ; from whence many mischiefs have 
sprung to the church of Christ in divers ages. 

This, dear Friends, 1 send amongst you as a token of 
my true love, in the revelation of the free spirit of our 
God and Father, who have ever been a friend to true 
liberty, as in the state according to law, so in the church 
according to Scripture, and as it standeth in the Truth of 
flesus, that makes them who love it free indeed. Let us 
all keep low, and remember the rock from whence we 
were hewn, and dwell in a tender and reverent sense of 
the daily mercies and providences of the Lord, looking 



232 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

well to our own gr(/wth and prosperity in his heavenly 
way and work ; then shall the desire of our hearts be 
more and more after Him, and the remembrance of his 
name ; and with our love to God, will our love increase 
one towards another, helping and aiding one another. 

And beware of that loose and irreverent spirit which 
has not those in high esteem among you who are faithful 
in the Lord's work, and who labor in his blessed word and 
doctrine. They that love Christ, his servants are dear to 
them, and they bear a tender regard to their trials, travails, 
spendings, and sufferings, who seek not yours, but you, 
that you may all be presented blameless at the coming of 
the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; that so the 
Gospel ministry and testimony may be held up with holy, 
fervent love, and godly esteem, to the keeping under every 
raw and exalted mind, and whatever may slight and turn 
against it. Be watchful, keep to your first love and works, 
that so you may endure to the end and be saved. And 
having overcome, you may have right to eat of the tree 
of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 



OF WILI>IAM PENN 



XII. 

WE have seen how William Penn had become con- 
cerned in the colonization of West Jersey. But in 
16 Y 9, Sir George Carteret, proprietor of East Jersey, 
died, leaving his property there to be sold for the benefit 
of his creditors. This sale was effected in the beginning 
of 1682, William Penn and eleven others being the pur- 
chasers. They soon afterwards took into the concern 
twelve others, thus constituting a company of twenty- 
four proprietors, nearly all members of the Society of 
Friends, and of whom Robert Barclay, the celebrated 
Apologist, was one. Of this growing colony, Robert 
Barclay was appointed governor for life, but he never 
visited the country. He held the office of governor only 
about two years, having entrusted the execution of his 
official duties to a deputy. Thus it happened that New 
Jersey, both east and west, was settled, in great part, un- 
der the auspices of Friends. 

It appears by one of his letters, that at an early period 
of his life, even while he was a student at Oxford, William 
Penn had a distant prospect of service in the western 
world ; and his connection with the province of New 
Jersey having made him partially acquainted with the 
country on the opposite side of the Delaware, he formed 
the idea of procuring the grant of a territory there ; in 
which he might not only furnish an asylum to Friends 
20- 



234: PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

and others who were persecuted on account of their re- 
ligious persuasion, but might erect a government upon 
principles approaching much nearer the standard of evan 
gelical purity than any which had been previously raised. 

He inherited from his father a claim on the British gov- 
ernment amounting to sixteen thousand pounds for ser- 
vices and for money advanced. In 1680 he asked of 
King Charles II., in satisfaction of this claim, a grant 
of land in America, north of Maryland, " bounded on the 
east by the Delaware River, on the west limited as Mary- 
land, and northward to extend as far as plantable." 

The grant to Lord Baltimore, which was made by 
Charles I., lay to the south, and was understood to ex- 
tend no further north than some point on the Delaware Bay. 
The Duke of York obtained a part of the tract lying on 
the cast of that bay. The application of William Penn 
was laid before the privy council, and by them referred to 
the Lords Committee of Trade and Plantations. The agent 
of the Duke of York was heard in relation to the claims of 
the latter. The rights of Lord Baltimore were also ex- 
amined. The advice of Chief- Justice North and the attor- 
ney-general was taken on the subject. After these con- 
tiguous claims had been fully canvassed, a charter was 
granted to William Penn, dated at Westminster, the fourth 
of March, 1681, constituting him proprietary and gov- 
ernor of the province of Pennsylvania. 

William Penn informs his friend Robert Turner of the 
grant in the following letter : 

" Dear Friend : — My true love in the Lord salutes thee 
and dear Friends that love the Lord's precious Truth in 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 235 

those parts. Thine I have, and for my business here, 
know that after many waitings, watchings, solicitings, 
and disputes in council, this day my country was con- 
firmed to me under the great seal of England, with large 
powers and privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania ; a 
name the king would give it in honor of my father. 1 
chose New Wales, being, as this, a pretty hilly country, 
but Penn being Welsh for a head, as Penmanmoire in 
Wales, and Penrith in Cumberland, and Penn in Buck- 
inghamshire, the highest land in England, called this 
Pennsylvania, which is the high or head woodlands ; for 
I proposed, when the secriitary, a Welshman, refused to 
have it called New Wales, Sylvania, and they added Penn 
to it ; and though I much opposed it, and went to the 
king to have it struck out and altered, he said it was past, 
and would take it upon him ; nor could twenty guineas 
move the under secretary to vary the name ; for I feared 
lest it should be looked on as a vanity in me, and not as 
a respect in the king, as it truly was, to my father, whom 
he often mentions with praise. Thou mayest communicate 
my grant to Friends, and expect shortly my proposals. 

" It is a clear and just thing, and my God, that has given 
it me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and 
make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care 
to the government, that it be well laid at first. No more 
now, but dear love in the Truth. 

"Thy true Friend, William Penn." 

This province is described in the charter as bounded on 
the east by the Delaware River, from a point twelve miles 
north of Newcastle, to the beginning of the forty-third 



236 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

degree of north latitude, in case the river should bo found 
to extend that far north — or if it should not, then a 
meridian was to be run from its head waters to the said 
latitude ; on the north by the parallel of latitude passing 
through the beginning of the forty-third degree ; and 
to extend westward through five degrees of longitude, 
computing from this eastern boundary. The southern 
boundary was to be determined by a circle described 
at twelve miles from Newcastle, northward and west- 
ward, until it intersected the beginning of the fortieth 
degree of north latitude ; and thence the line was to ex- 
tend on that parallel westward to the meridian previously 
determined. The province was, therefore, designed to 
include three degrees of latitude, except a small part on 
the eastern side, and five degrees of longitude on the 
northern parallel. It was afterwards discovered, that 
owing to the ignorance of the people of that day in regard 
to the geography of the country, the boundaries assigned 
to Pennsylvania were irreconcilable with each other, and 
encroached on the chartered limits of Maryland. This 
involved the proprietaries in a controversy which was not 
terminated during their lives. 

In regard to the motives of William Penn in this under- 
taking, it is evident that he was most influenced by 
religious considerations. In one of his letters he has 
this passage : 

" And now give me leave to say, I have served the Lord, 
his Truth and people in m}^ day to my ability, and not 
sought myself, though much spent myself; so has He 
made me to firmly believe that I shall not even outwardly 
go without my reward ; I see his blessed hand therein, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 'idV 

that has blessed my faith and patience and long attendance 
with success. And because I have been somewhat exer- 
cised at times about the nature and end of government 
among men, it is reasonable to expect that I should en- 
deavor to establish a just and righteous one in this province, 
that others may take example by it — truly this my heart 
desires. For nations want a precedent, and till vice and 
corrupt manners be impartially rebuked and punished, and 
till virtue and sobriety be cherished, the wrath of God 
will hano: over nations. I do, therefore, desire the Lord's 
wisdom to guide me, and those that may be concerned 
with me, that we may do the thing that is truly wise and 
just." 

In a letter to a particular friend, written in ^ G81, he says: 

" For my country I eyed the Lord in obtaining it ; and 
more was I drawn inward to look to Him, and to owe it to 
his hand and power than to any other way. I have so 
obtained it and desire to keep it, that I may not be un- 
worthy of his love ; but do that which may answer his 
kind providence and serve his Truth and people ; that an 
example may be set up to the nations. There may be 
room there, though not here, for such an holy experiment." 

The motives of the king in making this grant, as far as 
they can be inferred from the charter itself, appear to have 
been a desire to "favor William Penn in his laudable 
efforts to enlarge the British empire, to promote the trade 
and prosperity of the kingdom, and to reduce the savage 
nations by just and gentle measures, to the love of civil- 
ized life, and the Christian religion ; " and a regard to the 
memory and merits of the deceased admiral. 

Immediately after obtaining his charter, William Penn 



238 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

commenced his preparations for settling the province. He 
prepared such an account of the country as could then be 
obtained, which he published together with a copy of the 
charter and other documents connected with it ; explain- 
ing the terms upon which the lands were to be sold. The 
conditions of sale were, forty shillings sterling, in cash, 
and one shilling per annum forever, as the price of one 
hundred acres of unseated land. These annual payments 
were called quit-rents, and were allowed to be principally 
purchased off at the option of the grantee. A small annual 
sum, however, was designed to remain as a perpetual rent. 
These quit-rents were a part of the original purchase. 
The reason why they were not allowed to be totally ex- 
tinguished by subsequent purchase, is said to have been, 
that William Penn held his title from the crown by a 
small annual rent, and therefore a small yearly rent from 
the purchasers was requisite to give validity to their 
titles. The yearly return of William Penn to the king 
appears by the charter to have been merely nominal, ex- 
cept under the contingency of discovering mines of silver 
or gold ; in which case one-fifth of the ore was reserved. 
Yet the title of the proprietary to the soil was, in point 
of law, a feudal, not an allodial tenure, but divested of 
the military character of such tenures ; he therefore did 
not consider himself authorized to make sales upon allodial 
principles. 

The invitation which the proposals contained, to such 
of his countrymen as might incline to emigrate to Penn- 
sylvania, was marked by his usual solicitude for their 
religious as well as temporal advancement. The address 
was) closed with the following judicious admonition : 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 239 

" I desire my dear country-folks to consider seriously the 
premises, as well the inconveniency as future ease and 
plenty; that so none may move rashly, or from a fickle, 
but from a solid mind ; having above all things, an eye to 
the providence of God in the disposing of themselves; 
and I would further advise all such, at least to have the 
permission, if not the good-liking of their near relations ; 
for that is both natural and a duty incumbent upon nil. 
And by this will natural affections be preserved, and a 
friendly and profitable correspondence between them ; in 
all which I beseech Almighty God to direct us, that his 
blessing may attend our honest endeavors; and then the 
consequence of all our undertakings will turn to the glory 
of his great name, and all true happiness to us and our 
posterity. Amen." 

William Penn, having now a colony of his own to settle, 
was obliged to give up his management of that of West 
New Jersey ; but it was a matter of great satisfaction to 
him that he had brought it from infancy to a state of man- 
hood, to a state in which it could take care of itself. He 
had sent to it about fourteen hundred people, of whom the 
adults were persons of high character. The town of Bur- 
lington had been built. Faruis had risen up out of the 
wild waste. Roads had been formed. Religious meeting- 
houses had been erected in the place of tents covered with 
sail-cloth, under which the first settlers worshipped. A 
respectable magistracy had been established. The Indians 
in the neighborhood had been turned into friends and ben- 
efactors. Such w^as the situation of West New Jersey 
when he took his leave of it, and therefore it was w^ith 
the less regret he left it to attend to his ow n concerns. 



240 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

After publishing bis "Account of the Province," ho 
drew up next " Certain Conditions or Concessions to be 
Agreed upon by William Penn, Proprietary and Governor 
of the Province of Pennsylvania, and those who may be- 
come Adventurers and Purchasers in the same Province " 
These conditions related to the building, forming, and set- 
tling of towns, roads, and lands, and to the treatment of 
the natives, and other subjects. They consisted of twenty 
articles. Among other things, it was stipulated in these 
that no purchaser of ten thousand acres or more should 
have above a thousand acres lying together, unless in 
three years he planted a family upon every thousand of 
the same. That in clearing the ground care should be 
taken to leave one acre of trees for every five acres cleared, 
especially to preserve oaks and mulberries for silk and ship- 
ping. 

In behalf of the Indians it was stipulated, that, as it 
had been usual with planters to overreach them in various 
ways, whatever was sold to them in consideration of their 
furs should be sold in the public market-place, and there 
suffer the test, whether good or bad : if good, to pass ; if 
not good, not to be sold for good; that the said native 
Indians might neither be abused nor provoked. That no 
man should by any ways or means, in word or deed, af- 
front or wrong any Indian, but he should incur the same 
penalty of the law as if he had committed it against his 
fellow planter ; and if any Indian should abuse, in word 
or deed, any planter of the province, that the said planter 
should not be his own judge upon the said Indian, but 
that he should make his complaint to the governor of the 
province, or his deputy, or some inferior magistrate near 



OF WILLIAM PENN". 241 

him, who should to the utmost of his power take care with 
the king of the said Indian that all reasonable satisfaction 
should be made to the said injured planter. And that all 
differences between planters and Indians should be ended 
by twelve men, that is, by six planters and six Indians, 
that so they might live friendly together, as much as in 
them lay, preventing all occasions of heart-burnings and 
mischief. 

These stipulations in favor of the poor natives will al- 
ways give honor to the name of William Penn ; for, ris- 
ing above the prejudices and customs of his time, by which 
navigators and adventurers thought it right to consider 
the inhabitants of the lands they discovered as their law- 
ful prey, whom they might treat, use, and take advantage 
of at their pleasure, he regarded them as creatures endued 
with reason, as men of the like feelings and passions with 
himself, as brethren both by nature and grace, and as per- 
sons, therefore, to whom the great duties of humanity and 
justice were to be extended, and who, in proportion to 
their ignorance, were the more entitled to his fatherly 
protection and care, 

" The Account of Pennsylvania," which was before 
mentioned, and the " Conditions or Concessions," part of 
which have been detailed, having been made known to 
the public, many purchasers came forward both in Lon- 
don and Liverpool, and particularly in Bristol. Among 
those in the latter city, J. Claypole, N. Moore, P. Forde, 
and others formed a company, which they called, "The 
Free Society of Traders in Pennsylvania." They pur- 
chased twenty thousand acres of land in trust for the said 
company, and prepared for embarking in many branches 
21 Q 



242 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

of trade. Other persons purchased also, and among these 
a great number of Friends from Wales. 

It was necessary, before any of the purchasers em- 
barked, that they should know something of the political 
constitution under which they were to live in the new 
land, as well as that it should be such as they approved. 
William Penn accordingly drew up a rough sketch, to be 
submitted to their opinion, of that great frame of govern- 
ment which he himself wished to become the future and 
permanent one of the province. It consisted of twenty- 
four articles. These were preceded by what he called his 
first or great fundamental, by which he gave them that 
liberty of conscience which the laws of their own country 
denied them, and in behalf of which he had both written 
and suffered so frequently himself. ''In reverence," says 
he, " to God, the father of light and spirits, the author as 
well as object of all divine knowledge, faith, and worship, 
I do, for me and mine, declare and establish for the first 
fundamental of the government of my province, that 
every person that doth and shall reside therein shall have 
and enjoy the free possession of his or her faith and exer- 
cise of worship towards God, in such way and manner as 
every such person shall in conscience believe is most ac- 
ceptable to God. And so long as every such person useth 
not this Christian liberty to licentiousness or the destruc- 
tion of others, that is to say, to speak loosely and pro- 
fanely or contemptuously of God, Christ, the Holy Scrip- 
tures, or religion, or commit any moral evil or injury 
against others in their conversation, he or she shall be 
protected in the enjoyment of the aforesaid Christian lib- 
erty by the civil magistrate." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 213 

The merchants and adventurers were well pleased with 
(hem, and unanimously signed them. Nor was William 
Penn less satisfied as having done his duty in proposing 
them, if we may judge from a letter to K. Turner, which 
he wrote just at the time when he had resolved upon 
them. " I have been," says he, " these thirteen years the 
servant of Truth and Friends, and for my testimony's 
sake lost much — not only the greatness and preferment 
of this world, but sixteen thousand pounds of my estate, 
which, had I not been what I am, I had long ago obtained. 
But I murmur not. The Lord is good to me, and the in- 
terest his truth has given me with his people may more 
than repair it; for many are drawn forth to be concerned 
with me, and perhaps this way of satisfaction hath more 
the hand of God in it than a downright payment. This 
I can say, that I had an opening of joy as to these, parts 
in the year IGGl, at Oxford, twenty years since; and as 
my understanding and inclinations have been much directed 
to observe and reprove mischiefs in government, so it is 
now put into my power to settle one. For the matters of 
liberty and privilege (alluding to these articles), I purpose 
that which is extraordinary, and leave myself and suc- 
cessors no power of doing mischief, that the will of one 
man may not hinder the good of a whole country." 

In a letter, dated September 4th, '81, to Robert Turner, 
he says, " I did refuse a great temptation last Second day, 
which was £0000, and pay the Indians for six shares, and 
make the purchasers a company, to have wholly to itself 
the Indian'trade from south to north, between Susquehanna 
and Delaware rivers, paying me 2i per cent, acknowledg- 
ment or rent ; but as the Lord gave it me over all and 



244 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

great opposition, and that I never had my mind so exer. 
ciscd to the Lord about any outward substance, I would 
not abuse his love, nor act unworthy of his providence, 
and so defile what came to me clean.. No ; let the Lord 
guide me by his wisdom, and preserve me to honor his 
name and serve his Truth and people, that an example and 
standard may be set up to the nations ; there may be room 
there though none here." 

James Claypole, who was largely interested in the colony, 
says, in a letter of that time, " William Penn does not 
intend starting for Pennsylvania till next spring; and then 
it is likely there will be many people ready to go from 
England, Scotland, and Ireland. He is offered great things : 
£6000 for a monopoly in trade, which he refused, and for 
islands and particular places, great sums of money ; but 
he designs to do things equally between all parties, and I 
believe truly does aim more at justice and righteousness 
and spreading of Truth than at his own particular gain. 
I tried him about the proposals to take £100 for 5000 
acres and abate the quit-rent, which he refused, intending 
to do equal by all." 

Three commissioners were appointed by the proprietary 
to lay out a town and treat with the Indians. His letter 
of instructions to them contains these among other wise 
directions: 

" Be impartially just and courteous to all ; that is both 
pleasing to the Lord and wise in itself. 

''Be tender of offending the Indians, and hearken by 
honest spies, if you can hear that anybody inveigles them 
not to sell, or to stand off and raise the value upon you. 
You cannot want those that will inform you ; but to soften 



OF WILLIAM PENN-. 245 

them to me, and the people, let them know that you arc 
( ome to sit down lovingly among them. Let my letter 
[ind conditions, with my purchasers about just dealing 
with them, be read in their tongue, that they may see we 
have their good in our eye, equal with our own interest ; 
and, after reading my letter and the said conditions, then 
present their kings with what I send them, and make a 
friendship and league with them according to those con- 
ditions, which carefully observe and get them to comply 
with. Be grave ; they love not to be smiled on. 

" Be sure to settle the figure of the town so as that the 
streets hereafter may be uniform down to the water from 
the country bounds. 

" Let every house be placed, if the person pleases, in the 
middle of its plat, as to the breadth-way of it, that so there 
may be ground on each side for gardens or orchards or 
fields, that it may be a green country town, which will 
never be burnt and always wholesome." 

The conditions and frame of government having been 
mutually signed, three ships full of passengers set sail for 
Pennsylvania — two from London and one from Bristol. 
It appears that the John and Sarah from London arrived 
first, and the Bristol Factor the next. The last vessel ar- 
rived at the place where Chester now stands. Here the 
passengers, seeing some houses, went on shore ; and here, 
the river being frozen up that night, they remained all 
the winter. The other London ship, the Amity, did not 
arrive at the province till the spring of the next year. 

In one of these ships went Colonel William Markham. 
He was a relation of William Penn, and was to be his 
secretary when he himself should arrive. He was at 
21* 



246 TASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

tended by several commissioners, whose object was to 
confer with the Indians respecting their lands, and to 
endeavor to make with them a Icag-ue of eternal peace. 
With this view they were enjoined in a solemn manner 
to treat them with all possible candor, justice, and hu- 
manity. They were the bearers also of a letter to them, 
which William Penn wrote with his owm hand, and of 
which the following is a copy : 

"There is a great God and power, wiiich hath made 
the world and all things therein, to whom you and I and 
all people owe their being and well-being, and to whom 
you and I must one day give an account for all that we 
have done in this world. 

" This great God has written his law in our hearts, by 
which we are taught and commanded to love, and to help, 
and to do good to one another. Now this great God hath 
been pleased to make me concerned in your part of the 
world, and the king of the country where I live hath 
given me a great province therein. But I desire to enjoy 
it with your love and consent, that we may always live 
together as neighbors and friends ; else what w^ould the 
great God do to us, who hath made us, not to devour and 
destroy one another, but to live sobcrl}^ and kindly to- 
gether in the world ? Now I would have you well observe 
that I am very sensible of the unkindness and injustice 
which have been too much exercised towards you by the 
people of these parts of the world, Avho have sought 
themselves to make great advantages by you, rather than 
to be examples of goodness and patience unto you. This 
I hear hath been a matter of trouble to you, and caus'd 
great grudging and animosities, sometimes to the she I 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 247 

ding of blood ; which hath made the great God angry. 
But I am not such a man, as is well known in my own 
country. I have great love and regard towards you, and 
desire to win and gain your love and friendship by a kind, 
just, and peaceable life ; and the people I send are of the 
same mind, and shall in all things behave themselves ac- 
cordingly ; and if in anything any shall offend you or 
your people, you shall have a full and speedy satisfaction 
for the same, by an equal number of just men on both 
sides, that by no means you may have just occasion of 
being offended against them. 

" I shall shortly come to see you myself, at which time 
we may more largely and freely confer and discourse of 
these matters. In the meantime I have sent my commis- 
sioners to treat with you about land and a firm league of 
peace. Let me desire you to be kind to them and to the 
people, and receive the presents and tokens which I have 
sent to you, as a testimony of my good will to you, and 
of my resolution to live justly, peaceably, and friendly 
with you. 

** I am your loving Friend, William Penn." 

About this time William Penn was elected a Fellow of 
the Royal Society. He had before been acquainted with 
tiie celebrated Dr. John Wallis, who had been one of the 
chief instruments in founding it ; but in the present year 
he Avrote him a letter, in which he expressed to him the 
satisfaction he felt on hearing of the progress of the insti- 
tution, as well as the high opinion he entertained of the 
advantages which would result to science from its labors, 
and in which (now going out to Pennsylvania) he of- 



248 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

forcd to contribute to its usoriilnoss to the utmost of his 
power. 

Amon<;' tlie letters which he wrote this year to private 
persons, was one to Robert Vickris, who lived at Chew in 
Somersetshire, who had a son who became a Quaker, and 
afterw'ards an eminent sullcrer in that society. His lather 
adhered to his own religion, but he did not persecute his 
son for having left it. This made such an impression on 
William Penn, who had suffered so much from his father 
on that account, that he loved Robert as a brother, and 
wrote him the following short letter : 

'' Dear Fuiend : — In my dear and heavenly farewell to 
the city of Bristol thou wert often upon my spirit, and 
the wishes of my soul are that the Lord would abundantly 
fill thee with the consolations of his Holy Spirit, and that 
in the days thou hast to pass on this side of the grave, thou 
mayest be fitted for his coming, that comes as a thief in 
the night, that at what watch of the night soever it be, thou 
mayest aw^ake with his likeness, and enter the rest that is 
eternal. So the Lord more and more gather thee out of 
every visible, fading thing, and prepare thee for himself. 
Dear friend, be faithful to that appearance of God and 
manifestation of the love of the Ijord to thy soul that visits 
thee. The Lord is near thee, with thee, and in thee, to 
enlighten, melt, and refresh thee. 'Tis his presence, not 
seen or felt of the wicked, that gathers and revives the 
soul that seeks Him. So the Ijord be with thee, and 
remember into thy bosom the sincere love thou hast 
shown to thy son and his friends, T say no more, but in 
the Lord farewell. 

"Thy trulv alTectionate Friend, William Penn.'' 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 249 

About this time his mother, to whom he was most 
affectionately attached, died. lie was so affected by her 
death that he was ill for some' days, as appears by a letter 
which has come down to us, which he wrote at this time. 
Its conciseness and tone bespeak a chastened spirit occu- 
pied with its own grief. 

"Dear Friend: — Both thy letters came in a few daya 
one of the other. My sickness upon my mother's death, 
who was last Seventh day interred, permitted me not to 
answer thee so soon as desired ; but on a serious weigh- 
ing of thy inclinations, and perceiving thy uneasiness 
under my constrained silence, it is most clear to me to 
counsel thee to sink down into the seasoning, settling gift 
of God, and to wait to distinguish between thy own de- 
sires and the Lord's requirings." 

ITaving paid the last earthly offices of respect to his 
mother, he began to turn his mind to his American con- 
cerns. The first thing he did was to publish the frame 
of government or Constitution of Pennsylvania before 
mentioned. To this he added a noble preface, containing 
his thoughts upon the origin, nature, object, and modes 
of government, most of which is appended : 

"When the great and wise God had made the world, of 
all his creatures it pleased Him to choose man his deputy 
to rule it, and to fit him for so great a charge and trust. 
He did not only qualify him with skill and power, but 
with integrity to use them justly. This native goodness 
was equally his honor and his happiness ; and, whilst he 
stood here, all went well, there was no need of coercive cr 



250 PASSAGES FllOM THE LIFE 

compulsivo means;. The precept of divine love and truth 
in bif^ bosom was the guide and keeper of bis innocency. 
But lust, prevailing' ag-ainst duty, made a lamentable 
bveaeh upon it, and the law, that bad before no power 
over him, took place upon him and his disobedient poster- 
ity, that such as would not live conformable to the holy 
law within, should fall under the reproof and correction 
of the just law without in a judicial administration. 

" This the apostle teaches in divers of his epistles. 'Let 
every soul be subject to tlie higher powers. The powers 
that be are ordained of God. Rulers are not a terror to 
good works, but to evil. He is the minister of God to 
thee for good. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not 
only for wrath, but for conscience' sake.' 

"This settles the divine right of government beyond 
exception, and that for two ends, first, to terrify evil- 
doers ; secondly, to cherish those that do well ; which 
gives government a life beyond corruption, and makes it 
as durable in the world as good men shall be, so that 
government seems to me a part of religion itself, a thing 
sacred in its institution and end ; for, if it does not directly 
remove the cause, it crushes the effects of evil, and is, as 
such, though a lower, yet an emanation of the same divine 
power that is both author and object of pure religion. The 
difierence lying here, that the one is more free and men- 
tal, the other more corporal and compulsive in its opera- 
tion ; but that is only to evil-doers, government itself 
being otherwise as capable of kindness, goodness, and 
charity as a more private society. They weakly err who 
think there is no other use of government than correcti('n. 
which is the coarsest part of it. Daily experience tells ua 



OF WILT>TAM P£NX. 251 

that the care and ro,:,^ulation of many other affairs, more 
soft and daily neeessary, make up much the greatest part 
of government, and which must have followed the peopling 
of the world had Adam never fallen, and will continue 
among men on earth under the highest attainments they 
may arrive at by the coming of the blessed second Adam, 
the Lord from heaven. Thus much of government in gen- 
eral as to its rise and end. 

" For particular frames and models it will become me to 
say little. I do not find a model in the world, that time, 
place, and some singular emergencies have not necessarily 
altered; nor is it easy to frame a civil government that 
shnll serve all places alike. I know what is said by the 
several admirers of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, 
which are the rule of one, of a few, and of many, and are 
the three common ideas of government when men dis- 
course on that subject. But I choose to solve the contro- 
versy with this small distinction, and it belongs to all 
three. Any government is free to the people under it, 
whatever be the frame, where the laws rule and the peo- 
ple are a party to those laws ; and more than this is tyr- 
anny, oligarchy, and confusion. 

" But, when all is said, there is hardly one frame of 
government in the world so ill designed by its first founders 
'that in good hands would not do w^ell enough ; and story 
tells us that the best in ill ones can do nothing that is great 
and good. Wherefore, governments rather depend upon 
men than men upon governments. Let men be good and 
the government cannot be bad. If it be ill th(^y will cure 
it. But if men be bad, let the government be never so 
good, thoy will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn, 



4 

252 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

" That which makes a good constitution must keep it; 
namely, men of wisdom and virtue, qualities that, because 
they descend not with worldly inheritances, must be care- 
fully propagated by a. virtuous education of youth, for 
which after ages will owe more to the care and prudence 
of founders and the successive magistracy than to their 
parents for their private patrimonies. 

" We have, with reverence to God and good conscience 
to men, to the best of our skill, contrived and composed 
the frame and laws of this Government to the great end 
of government, to support power in reverence with the 
people, and to secure the people from the abuse of power, 
that they may be free by their just obedience, and the 
magistrates honorable for their just administration ; for 
liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience with- 
out liberty is slavery. 

" To carry this evenness is partly owing to the constitu- 
tion and partly to the magistracy. Where either of these 
fail government will be subject to convulsions, but where 
both are wanting, it must be totally subverted ; then where 
both meet, the government is like to endure ; which I 
humbly pray and hope God will please to make the lot of 
this of Pennsylvania. Amen." 

Of the laws agreed upon and published with the frame of 
government, two or three partake of a religious character : 

" That all persons living in the province who confess 
and acknowledge the one Almighty and eternal God to be 
the Creator, Upholder, and Ruler of the world, and that 
hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably 
and justly in civil society, shall in no ways be molested 
or prejudiced for their religious persuasion or practice in 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 253 

matters of faith and worship; nor shall they be compelled, 
at any time, to frequent or maintain any religious worship, 
place, or ministry whatever. 

'' That, according to the good example of the primitive 
Christians, and the ease of the creation, every First-day 
of the week, called the Lord's-day, people shall abstain from 
their common daily labor, that they may better dispose 
themselves to worship God according to their under- 
standings. 

" That as a careless and corrupt administration of justice 
draws the wrath of God upon magistrates, so the wildness 
and looseness of the people provoke the indignation of God 
against the country ; therefore, that all such offences against 
God as swearing, cursing, lying, profane talking, drunken- 
ness, drinking of healths, obscene words, and several other 
scandalous acts particularly named ; treasons, misprisions, 
duels, murders, felony, sedition, maims, forcible entries, 
and other violences to the persons and estates of the in- 
habitants of the province ; all prizes, stage-plays, cards, 
dice, may-games, gamesters, masques, revels, bull-baitings, 
cock-fightings, bear-baitings, and the like, which excite the 
people to rudeness, cruelty, and irreligion, shall be respec- 
tively discouraged and severely punished according to the 
appointment of the Governor and freemen in provincial 
council and general assembly." This system was signed 
by the Governor and freemen in the Third month, 1682. 

The grant of territory which had been made to James, 
Duke of York, having given him some claim, though at 
best a very doubtful one, to the tract included within the 
limits of Pennsylvania, William Penn, previous to enter- 
ing himself upon his new possession, obtained from the 
22 



254: PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

duke a full release of all bis claims upon the province. 
This deed was dated the 20th of August, 1GS2. He also 
obtained in the same 5"ear, by two separate deeds from the 
duke, a grant of the tract on the Delaware river and bay, 
commonly termed the three lower counties, now the State 
of Delaware. This grant was obtained to secure the free 
use of the river, and to prevent the trouble which might 
probably arise from the access to the province being in the 
possession of another. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 255 



XIII. 

WILLIAM PENN having completed his preparations 
for a voyage to America, went, in the Sixth month 
of this year, 1682, on board the ship Welcome, of three 
hundred tons, Robert Greenaway commander ; and on the 
30th of the month addressed a valedictory epistle to his 
friends in England. He also wrote the following letter to 
Stephen Crisp, a valuable minister of the Gospel in his own 
religious society. 

" Dear Stephen Crisp : — My dear and lasting love in 
the*Lord's everlasting Truth reaches to thee, with whom 
is my fellowship in the Gospel of peace that is more dear 
and precious to my soul than all the treasures and pleasures 
of this world ; for when a few years are passed we shall 
all go the way whence we shall never return ; and that we 
may unwearicdly serve the Lord in our day and place, and 
in the end enjoy a portion with the blessed that are at rest, 
is the breathing of my soul ! 

'* Stephen I we know one another and I need not say 
much to thee ; but this I will say, thy parting dwells with 
me, or rather, thy love at my parting. How innocent, how 
tender, how like the little child that has no guile I The 
Lord will bless that ground (Pennsylvania). I have also 
a letter from thee which comforted me ; for many are my 
trials, yet not more than my supplies from my heavenly 



256 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Father, whose glory I seek, and the renown of his blessed 
name. And truly, Stephen, there is work enough, and 
here is room to work in. Surely God w^ll come in for a 
share in this planting-work, and that leaven shall leaven 
the lump in time. 1 do not hclieve the Lord's providence 
had run this way towards me, but that he has an heavenly 
end and service in it ; so with Him I leave all, and myself, 
and thee, and his dear people, and blessed name on earth. 

" God Almighty, immortal and eternal, be with us, that 
in the body and out ofc|the body we may be his forever ! 

" I am, in the ancienT dear fellowship, 

" Thy faithful friend and brother, 

William Penn." 

As this voyage and residence in America were likely to 
keep him separated from his family during a considerable 
time, he left behind him a letter addressed to his wife and 
children, valuable for its wisdom as well as beautiful for 
its simplicity and patriarchal spirit. 

" My Dear Wife and Children : — My love, w^hich 
neither sea nor land nor death itself can extinguish or 
lessen toward you, most endearly visits you with eternal 
embraces, and will abide with you forever ', and may the 
God of my life watch over you and bless you, and do you 
good in this world and forever I Some things are upon 
my spirit to leave with you in your respective capacities, 
as I am to the one a husband and to the rest a father, if I 
should never see you more in this world. 

" My dear wife, remember thou .wast the love of my 
youth, and much the joy of my life ; the most beloved as 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 257 

well as most worthy of all mv earthly comforts ; and the 
reason of that love was more thy inward than thy outward 
excellencies, which yet were many. God knows, and thou 
knowest it, I can say it was a match of Providence's mak 
ing ; and God's image in us both was the first thing, and 
the most amiable and engaging ornament in our eyes. 
Now I am to leave thee, and that without knowing 
whether I shall ever see thee more in this world; take 
my counsel into thy bosom and let it dwell with thee in 
my stead while thou livest. 

" First : Let the fear of the Lord and a zeal and love to 
his glory dwell richly in thy heart ; and thou wilt watch 
for good over thyself and thy dear children and family, 
that no rude, light, or bad thing be committed ; else God 
will be offended, and He will repent himself of the good 
He intends thee and thine. 

''Secondly: Be diligent in meetings for worship and 
business ; stir up thyself and others herein ; it is thy duty 
and place ; and let meetings be kept once a day in the 
family to wait upon the Lord who has given us much 
time for ourselves. And, my dearest, to make thy family 
matters easy to thee, divide thy time and be regular ; it is 
easy and sweet ; thy retirement will afford thee to do it ; 
as in the morning to view the business of the house and 
fix ijb as thou desirest, seeing all be in order ; that by thy 
counsel all may move, and to thee render an account every 
evening. The time for work, for walking, for meals, may 
be certain— at least as near as may be ; and grieve not 
thyself with careless servants ; they will disorder thee ; 
rather pay them and let them go if they will not be better 
22* R 



258 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

by admonitions ; this is best to avoid many words, which 
I know wound the soul and offend the Lord. 

"Thirdly: Cast up thy income and see what it daily 
amounts to ; by which thou mayest be sure to have it in 
thy sigbt and power to keep within compass ; and I beseech 
tlice to live low and sparingly till my debts are paid ; and 
then enlarge as thou seest it convenient. Kemember thy 
mother's example when thy father's public-spiritedness 
had worsted his estate, which is my case. I know thou 
lovest plain things, and art averse to the pomps of the 
world — a nobility natural to thee. I write not as doubtful, 
but to quicken thee, for my sake, to be vigilant herein, 
knowing that God will bless thy care, and thy poor children 
and thee for it. My mind is wrapt up in a saying of thy 
father's, * I desire not riches, but to owe nothing ; ' and 
truly that is wealth ; and more than enough to live is a 
snare attended with many sorrows. I need not bid thee 
be humble, for thou art so ; nor meek and patient, for it is 
much of thy natural disposition ; but I pray thee be oft in 
retirement with the Lord, and guard against encroaching 
friendships. Keep them at arm's end ; for it is giving 
away our power, aye, and self too, into the possession of 
another ; and that which might seem engaging in the be- 
ginning may prove a yoke and burden too hard and heavy 
in the end. Wherefore, keep dominion over thyself ;^nd 
let thy children, good meetings, and Friends be the pleas- 
ure of thy life. 

'' Fourthly : And now, my dearest, let me recommend 
to thy care my dear children ; abundantly beloved of nie 
as the Lord's blessings, and the sweet pledges of our 
mutual and endeared affection. Above all things endeavor 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 259 

to breed them up in the love of virtue, and that holy ])lain 
way of it which we have lived in, that the world in no part 
of it get into my family. I had rather they were homely 
than finely bred as to outward behavior ; yet I love sweet- 
ness mixed with gravity and cheerfulness tempered with 
sobriety. Kcligion in the heart leads into this true civility, 
teaching men and women to be mild and courteous in their 
behavior, an accomplishment worthy indeed of praise. 

" Fifthly: Next breed them up in a love one of another. 
Tell them it is the charge I*left behind me, and that it is 
the way to have the love and blessing of God upon them ; 
also what his portion is who hates, or calls his brother 
fool. Sometimes separate them, but not long ; and allow 
them to send and give each other small things to endear 
one another with. Once more I say, tell them it was my 
counsel they should be tender and affectionate one to 
another. For their learning be liberal. Spare no cost ; 
for by such parsimony all is lost that is saved ; but let it 
be useful knowledge, such as is consistent with truth and 
godliness, not cherishing a vain conversation or idle mind ; 
but ingenuity mixed with industry is good for the body 
and mind too. I recommend the useful parts of mathe- 
matics, as building houses or ships, measuring, survey- 
ing, dialing, navigation ; but agriculture is especiall}^ in 
iny.ej^e — let my children be husbandmen and housewives ; 
it is industrious, healthy, honest, and of good example: 
like Abraham and the holy ancients, who pleased God and 
obtained a good report. This leads to consider the w^orks 
of God and nature, of things that are good, and diverts 
the mind from being taken up with the vain arts and in- 
ventions of a luxurious wofid. It is commendable in the 



260 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

princes of Germany and the nobles of that empire, that 
they have all their children instructed in some useful oc- 
cupation. Rather keep an ingenious person in the house 
to teach them, than send them to schools, too many evil 
impressions being common y received there. Be sure to 
observe their genius, and do not cross it as to learning; 
let them not dwell too long on one thing ; but let their 
change be agreeable, and all their diversions have some 
little bodily labor in them. When grown big, have most 
care for them ; for then there- are more snares l)oth withiu 
and without. When marriageable, see that they have 
worthy persons in their eye, of good life, and good fame 
for piety and understanding. I need no wealth, but suf- 
ficiency ; and be sure their love be dear, fervent, and mu- 
tual, that it may be happy for them. I choose not they 
should be married to earthly, covetous kindred. And of 
cities and towns of concourse beware ; the world is apt to 
stick close to those w^ho have lived and got wealth there ; 
a country life and estate I like best for my children. I 
prefer a decent mansion, of an hundred pounds per an- 
num, before ten thousand pounds in London, or such like 
place, in a way of trade. In fine, my dear, endeavor to 
breed them dutiful to the Lord, and his blessed light, 
truth, and grace in their hearts, who is their Creator, and 
his fear will grow up with them. Teach a child, says tho 
wise man, the wa}^ thou wilt have him to walk, and when 
he is old he will not forget it. Next, obedience to the 3, 
thoir dear mother ; and that not for wrath, but for con- 
science' sake ; liberal to the poor, pitiful to th 3 miserable, 
liumblo and kind to all ; and may my God make thee a 
blessing, and give thee comfort in our dear children ; and 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 261 

hi age gather thee to the joy and blessedness of the just, 
where no death shall separate us forever I 

*' And now, my dear children, that are the gifts and 
mercies of the God of your tender father, hear ray coun- 
sel, and lay it up in your hearts ; love it more than treas- 
ure, and follow it, and you shall be blessed here and happy 
hereafter. 

'' In the first place, remember your Creator in the days 
of your youth. It was the glory of Israel in the second 
of Jeremiah ; and how did God bless Josiah because he 
feared Him in his youth 1 and so he did Jacob, Joseph, 
and Moses. my dear children, remember and fear and 
serve Him who made you and gave you to me and your 
dear mother ; that you may live to Him and glorify Him 
in your generations ! 

''To do this, in your youthful days seek after the Lord, 
that you may find Him ; remembering his great love in 
creating you ; that you are not beasts, plants, or stones, 
but that He has kept you, and given you his grace within, 
and substance without, and provided plentifully for you. 
This remember in your youth, that you may be kept from 
the evil of the world ; for in age it will be harder to over- 
come the temptations of it. 

'' Wherefore, my dear children, eschew the appearance 
of evil, and love and cleave to that in your hearts which 
shows you evil from good, and tells you when you do 
amiss, and reproves you for it. It is the light of Christ 
that He has given you for your salvation. If you do. this, 
and follow my counsel, God will bless you in this world, 
and give you an inheritance in that which shall never 
have an end. For the light of Jesu« is of a purifying 



262 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

nature ; it seasons those who love it and take heed to it, 
and never leaves such till it has brought them to the city 
of God, that has foundations. that ye may be seasoned 
with the gracious nature of it ! hide it in your hearts, and 
flee, my dear children, from all youthful lusts ; the vain 
sports, pastimes, and pleasures of the world ; redeeming 
the time because the days are evil I — You are now begin- 
ning to live — what would some give for joiiT time ? Oh, 
I could have lived better, were I, as you, in the flower of 
youth I Therefore love and fear the Lord, keep close to 
meetings, and delight to wait on the Lord God of your 
father and mother, among his despised people, as we have 
done ; and count it your honor to be members of that So- 
ciety, and heirs of that living fellowship which is enjoyed 
among them, for the experience of which your father's 
soul blesseth the Lord forever. 

" Next, be obedient to your dear mother, a woman 
whose virtue and good name is an honor to you ; for she 
hath been exceeded by none in her time for her plainness, 
integrity, industry, humanity, virtue, and good under- 
standing ; qualities not usual among women of her 
worldly condition and quality. Therefore, honor and 
obey her, ray dear children, as your mother, and your 
father's love and delight ; nay, love her, too, for she loved 
your father with a deep and upright love, choosing him 
before all her many suitors ; and though she be of a deli- 
catc constitution and noble spirit, yet she descended to the 
utmost tenderness and care for you, performing the pain- 
fulest acts of service to you in j^our infancy, as a mother 
and a nurse, too. I charge you, before the Lord, honor 
and obey, love and cherish your dear mother. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 263 

** Next, betake yourseh-es to some honest, industrious 
course of life, and that not of sordid covetousness, but for 
example and to avoid idleness. And if you change your 
condition, and marry, choose with the knowledge and con- 
sent of your mother, if living, or of guardians or those 
that have charge of you. Mind neither beauty nor riches, 
but the fear of the Lord, and a sweet and amiable dispo- 
sition, such as you can love above all this world, and that 
may make your habitations pleasant and desirable to 
you. 

" And, being married, be tender, affectionate, patient, 
and meek. Live in the fear of the Lord, and fle will 
bless you and your offspring. Be sure to live within com- 
pass ; borrow not, neither be beholden to any. Kuin not 
yourselves by kindness to others; for that exceeds the 
due bounds of friendship, neither will a true friend expect 
it. Small matters I heed not. 

" Let your industry and parsimony go no further than 
for a sufficiency for life, and to make a provision for your 
children, and that in moderation, if the Lord gives you 
any. I charge you help the poor and needy ; let the Lord 
have a voluntary share of your income for the good of the 
poor, both in our Society and others ; for we are all his 
creatures ; remembering that ' he that giveth to the poor 
lendeth to the Lord.^ 

" Know well your incomings, and your outgoings may 
be better regulated. Love not money nor the world ; use 
them only, and they will serve you ; but if you love them 
you serve them, which will debase your spirits as well as 
offend the Lord. 

" Pity the d/stressed, and hold out a hand of help to 



264 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

them; it may be your case; and as you mete to otliora 
God will mete to you again. 

" Be humble and gentle in your conversation ; of few 
words, I charge you; but always pertinent when you 
speak, hearing out before you attempt to answer, and 
then speaking as if you would persuade, not impose. 

"Atlront none, neither revenge the ailVonts that are 
done to you ; but forgive, and you shall be forgiven of 
your heavenly Father. 

" In making friends consider avoU first ; and W' hen you 
are fixed be true, not wavering by reports nor deserting 
in afiliction, for that becomes not the good and virtuous. 

" Watch against anger, neither speak nor act in it ; for, 
like drunkenness, it makes a man a beast, and throws peo- 
ple into desperate inconveniences. 

" Avoid fiatterers, for they are thieves in disguise ; their 
praise is costly, designing to get by those they bespeak ; 
they are the worst of creatures ; they lie to flatter, and 
flatter to cheat ; and, which is worse, if you believe them 
you cheat yourselves most dangerously. But the virtu- 
ous, though poor, love, cherish, and prefer. Remember 
David, who asking the Lord, ' Who shall abide in thy tab- 
ernacle ? who shall dwell upon thy holy hill ? ' answers, 
* He that walketh uprightl}^ worketh righteousness, and 
speaketh the truth in his heart; in w^hose eyes the vile 
person is contemned, but honoreth them that fear the 
Lord.' 

" Next, my children, be temperate in all things ; in your 
diet, for that is physic by prevention ; it keeps, nay, it 
makes people healthy, and their generation sound. This 
is exclusive of the spiritual advantage it brings. Be also 



OP WILLIAM PENN. 265 

plain in your apparel ; keep out that lust wl ich reigns too 
much over some ; let your virtues be your ornaments, re- 
membering* life is more than food, and the body than rai- 
ment. Let your furniture be simple and cheap. Avoid 
pride, avarice, and luxury. Head my ' No Cross, no 
Crown.' There is instruction. Make your conversation 
with the most eminent for wisdom and piety ; and shun 
all wicked men as you hope for the blessing- of God and 
the comfort of your father's living and dying prayers. 
Be sure you speak no evil of any, no, not of the mean- 
est ; much less of your superiors, as magistrates, guar- 
dians, tutors, teachers, and elders in Christ. 

"Be no busybodies; meddle not with other folks' mat- 
ters, but when in conscience and duty prest ; for it pro- 
cures trouble, and is ill manners, and very unseemly to 
wise men. 

"In your families remember Abraham, Moses, and 
Joshua, their integrity to the Lord ; and do as you have 
them for your examples. 

"Let the fear and service of the living God be en- 
couraged in your houses, and that plainness, sobriety, and 
moderation in all things as becometh God's chosen people ; 
and as 1 advise you, my beloved children, do you counsel 
yours, if God should give you any. Yea, I counsel and 
command them as my posterity, that they love and serve 
the Lord God with an upright heart, that He may bless 
you and yours from generation to generation. 

" And as for you, who are likely to be concerned in the 

government of Pennsylvania and my parts of East-Jersey, 

especially the first, I do charge you before the Lord God 

and his holy angels, that you be lowly, diligent, and 

23 



266 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

tender, fearing Gocl, loving the people, and hating covet- 
ousness. Let justice have its impartial course, and the 
law free passage. Though to your loss, protect no man 
against it ; for you are not above the law, but the law 
above you. Live, therefore, the lives yourselves you 
would have the people live, and then you have right and 
boldness to punish the transgressor. Keep upon the 
square, for God sees you ; therefore, do your duty, and be 
sure you see with your own eyes, and hear with your own 
ears. Entertain no lurchers, cherish no informers for gain 
or revenge ; use no tricks ; fly to no devices to support or 
cover injustice; but let your hearts be upright before the 
Lord, trusting in Him above the contrivances of men, and 
none shall be able to hurt or supplant. 

" Oh ! the Lord is a strong God, and He can do whatso- 
ever He pleases ; and though men consider it not, it is the 
Lord that rules and overrules in the kingdoms of men, 
and He builds up and pulls down. I, your father, am the 
man that can say, he that trusts in the Lord shall not be 
confounded. But God, in due time, will make his enemies 
be at peace with Him. 

" If 3^ou thus behave yourselves, and so become a terror 
to evil-doers and a praise to them that do well, God, my 
God, will be with you in wisdom and a sound mind, and 
make you blessed instruments in his hand for the settle- 
ment of some of those desolate parts of the world, which 
my soul desires above all worldly honors and riches, both 
for you that go and you that stay ; you that govern and 
you that are governed ; that in the end you may ))e 
gathered with me to the rest of God. 

"Finally, my children, love one another with a true 



OF WILLIAM. PENN. 267 

endeared lo\c, and your dear relations on both sides, and 
take care to preserve tender affection in yiour children to 
each other, often marry ini^ within themselves, so as it be 
without the bounds forbidden in God's law, that so they 
may not, like the forge ting unnatural w^orld, grow out of 
kindred and as cold as strangers; but as becomes a truly 
natural and Christian stock, you and yours after you may 
live in the pure and fervent love of God towards one 
another, as becometh brethren in the spiritual and natural 
relation. 

''So, my God, that hath blessed me with his abundant 
mercies, both of this and the other and blessed life, be with 
you all, guide you by his counsel, bless you, and bring 
you to his eternal glory I that you may shine, my dear 
children, in the firmament of God's power with the blessed 
spirits of the just, that celestial family, praising and ad- 
miring Him, the God and Father of it, forever. For 
there is no God like unto Him ; the God of Isaac and of 
Jacob, the God of the prophets, the apostles, and martyrs 
of Jesus, in whom I live forever. 

" So farewell to my thrice dearly beloved wife and 
children ! 

" Yours, as God pleaseth, in that w4iich no waters can 
quench, no time forget, nor distance wear away, but 
remains forever, William Penn. 

'' WoRMiNGHURST, 4th of Sixth month, 1682." 

The Welcome proceeded to sea about the beginning of 
the Seventh month (September). The number of pas- 
sengers, who were chiefly Friends, was about one hundred. 
But they bad not been long on the ocean before the small- 



268 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

pox broke out among them, and carried off thirty of their 
number. The voyage in other respects was prosperous, 
and in about six weeks they came in sight of the American 
shore. They soon afterwards entered the Delaware, and 
on the 24th of the Eighth month landed at Newcastle. 

As he sailed up the river, the inhabitants, consisting of 
English, Dutch, and Swedes, met the proprietary and 
manifested their satisfaction with his arrival. The town 
of Newcastle, where he first landed, was originally com- 
menced, and at the time of his landing principally occupied, 
by the Dutch. It was first called Fort Cassimir, subse- 
quently Delaware Town, and finally designated by the 
name which it now bears. There was a court-house in 
the town, to which, on the day after his arrival, he in- 
vited the principal inhabitants of the place and its vicinity. 
Possession of the territory w^as there taken in due form ; 
after which he addressed the magistrates and people, ex- 
plaining the design of his coming among them, his views 
of the nature and end of government ; with an assurance 
of the free enjoyment of their civil and religious rights, 
and an admonition to live in sobriety and peace. He then 
renewed the commissions of the magistrates. 

Having arranged his concerns at Newcastle, he soon 
afterwards proceeded to Uplands. The name of this 
place was then changed to Chester, in compliment to one 
of the companions of his voyage who emigrated from 
Chester, in England. An assembly was convened at that 
place, consisting of an equal number from the province 
and territories. It was not composed of members elected 
for the purpose, but of such freemen as chose to attend. 
The session lasted but three days, yet some legislation of 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 269 

great importance to the colonists was effected. 1. An act 
was passed for the union of the province and territories. 
2. An act to naturalize the Dutch, Swedes, and other 
foreigners then residing within the province and terri- 
tories. 3. The laws agreed upon in England, were, with 
some alterations and additions, accepted and confirmed. 

These laws are understood to have been chiefly the 
work of William Penn, and manifest a particular anxiety 
to preserve the rights of conscience unimpaired, and to 
maintain a sound morality in this growing community. 

The preamble was in the following words : " Whereas 
the glory of God Almighty, and the good of mankind, is 
the reason and end of government ; and, therefore, govern- 
ment itself is a valuable ordinance of God ; and foras- 
much as it is principally desired and intended by the 
proprietary, and governor, and freemen of the province 
of Pennsylvania, and territories thereto belonging, to 
make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true 
Christian and civil liberty, in opposition to all unchristian, 
licentious, and unjust practices, whereby God may have 
his due, Caesar his due, and the people their due, from 
tyranny and oppression on the one side, and insolence 
and licentiousness on the other ; so that the best and 
firmest foundation may be laid, for the present and future 
happiness of both the governor and the people of this prov- 
ince and territories aforesaid, and their posterity ; be it 
enacted," etc. 

The first of these laws was to the following import: 

*' Almighty God being the Lord of conscience. Father of 

lights, and the author as well as object of all Divine 

knowledge, faith and worship; who only can enlighten 

23* 



270 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the mind and convince the umierstanding of people in Juc 
reverence to his sovereignty over the souls of mankind, 
be it enacted, that no person now or hereafter residing in 
this province, who shall confess one Almighty God to be 
the creator, upholder, and ruler of the world, and profess 
himself obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly 
under the civil government, shall in any wise be molested 
or prejudiced on account of his conscientious persuasion 
or practice ; nor shall he be compelled to frequent or 
maintain any religious wor:^hip, place, or ministry con- 
trary to his mind, but shall freely enjoy his liberty in that 
respect, without interruption or reflection. And if any 
person shall abuse or deride another for his ditferent per- 
suasion or practice in religion, such shall be looked upon 
as disturbers of the peace and be punished accordingly.'' 

The otlicers of the government were required to be such 
as professed faith in Jesus Christ, and had not been con- 
victed of unsober or dishonest conversation. Scandalous 
vices of every description were prohibited, and provision 
made for training children to business, to prevent beggary 
and pauperism. 

In the criminal code then established, a provision was 
introduced which had previously been but little regarded 
in the administration of jurisprudence. The reformation 
of the criminals, as well as deterring others from the com- 
mission of crimes, was viewed as an important object of 
attention. Hence the prisons were required to be con- 
sidered as workshops, where the oflenders might be 
industriously, soberly, and morally employed. It ex- 
empted from the infliction of death about two hundred 
ofleuces which were capitally punished by the English 



OF WILLIAM PENN, 271 

law, reserving the penalty of death for wilful murder 
only. 

A clause was soon after added, tbrou^rh the influence, it 
is believed, of the Proprietary, which abolished the right 
of primogeniture according to the English law, hy giving 
the property of intestates to the wife anjl children, a meas- 
ure in harmony with his views of justice and the well- 
being of individuals and of society, and which would also 
give stability to the republican government he desired to 
establish by promoting equality of social position and dis- 
tribution of wealth. An act was also passed at the first 
meeting of the Provincial Council, providing for three 
peacemakers, as arbitrators at every county court, to settle 
differences between individuals. 

Judge Sharswood, of Philadelphia, an eminent legal 
authority, in an address before the Historical Society of 
that city, says : " Our founder had well studied the science 
of government and laws, though he was no lawyer by pro- 
fession. He drew his first principles on the subject from 
the most authoritative source. He held that 'the glory 
of God Almighty and the good of mankind is the reason 
and end of government, and therefore government itself is 
a venerable ordinance of God.' 

" Another of William Penn's principles was, that ' any 
government is free to the people under it, whatever be the 
frame, where the laws rule and the people are a party to 
those laws, and more than this is tyranny, oli^j-archy, and 
confusion.' He knew no more concise and perfect descrip- 
tion of civil and political liberty than was contained in 
these few words. He composed and published his frame 
to advance, as he says, * the great end of government, viz., 



272 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

to support power in reverence with the people, and to 
secure the people from the abuse of power ; that they may 
be free by their just obedience, and the magistrates honor- 
able for their just administration ; for liberty without 
obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is 
slavery.' 

" By this frame the General Assembly was the first year 
to consist of all the freemen of the "province. Accordingly, 
we may say that the Assembly which convened at Upland 
on the 7th, and adjourned on the 10th, of December, 1G82, 
was the meeting of a pure democracy. It would have 
been a solemn and touching sight to one who could have 
foreseen all its consequences in the distant future — that 
first meeting. They came together, the pioneers of the 
wilderness — stern, grave, and earnest men — prepared for 
toil", privation and danger — men of moral, rather than 
mere physical courage — their hands hardened by the axe's 
unw^caried stroke in felling the primeval forest and rais- 
ing their rude log cabins — and there, within the hearing of 
the yells of wandering savages of untried disposition, they 
adopted, in the short space of three days, sixty-one laws, 
many of them, indeed all of them, the foundation-stones 
upon which has been since erected the superstructure of the 
civil and criminal jurisprudence of this broad Common- 
wealth. It was a fitting introduction to that simple but 
noble code, — the law al)Out liberty of conscience, — ' that all 
persons living in this province, who confess and acknowl- 
edge the one Almighty and Eternal God to be the creator, 
upholder, and ruler of the world, and that hold themselves 
obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil 
society, shall in no ways be molested or prejudiced for 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 273 

their religious persuasion or practice in matters of faith 
and worship ; nor shall they be compelled at any time to 
frequent or maintain any religious worship, place, or 
ministry.' 

" Looking at the scope and spirit of our early laws and in- 
stitutions, the celebrated Montesquieu pronounced William 
Penn a true Lycurgus ; that though the object of the one 
was to form a peaceful, and of the other a warlike, State, 
they resembled each other in the ascendancy they were able 
to acquire over the opinions, prejudices, and passions of the 
people. Penn infused his own spirit into the laws, and 
certainly the whole history of our jurisprudence shows 
how largely we have drawn from these original fountains. 
The character of the code comports with its introduction. 
Moderate in its penal enactments, just and equal in its 
civil provisions, it is an instance unparalleled in the world's 
history pf the foundations of a great State laid in peace, 
justice, equality. It is necessary to refer merely to the 
abolition of capital punishment in all cases except for wil- 
ful murder ; that all prisons shall be workhouses ; to the 
acts for the recording of deeds and registry of wills ; for 
the regulation of process and pleading ; for making lands 
chattels for the payment of debts, and that the laws should 
not only be printed for general information, but taught in 
the schools." 

Before the assembly broke up, which they did on the 
7th of Tenth month, they returned their grateful ac- 
knowledgments to the Governor. The Swedes deputed 
an individual to assure him that they would love, serve, 
and obey him with all they possessed. 

It appears that previous to the meeting of this assem- 
S 



274 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

bly, "William Penn paid a visit, in part at least of a relig- 
^ious character, to New York, Long Island, and East 
Jersey, of which nothing but a brief notice remains. 
Shortly after its dissolution he repaired to Maryland, 
where he was kindly received by Lord Baltimore and the 
principal inhabitants of that colony. One oljject of this 
visit was to settle with Lord Baltimore the boundaries of 
their respective colonies ; but, two days having been spent 
in the discussion of the subject, with very little prospect 
of a speedy adjustment of their adverse claims, and the 
winter coming on, they agreed to meet in the ensuing 
spring. When he was about returning to Pennsylvania, 
Lord Baltimore accompanied him several miles on his way. 
From this circumstance we may infer that the conference 
between them was amicably conducted, and that they parted 
in a friendly manner. After taking leave of Lord Baltimore, 
he proceeded to a meeting of Friends, which was held at the 
house of Thomas Hooker, and from thence to an appointed 
one at Choptank, on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay, 
which was attended by persons of divers ranks and quali- 
ties. Of this visit to Maryland, and the previous one to 
New York, he briefly states, in a letter to one of his friends, 
that he had had good and eminent service for the Lord. 
Thus it appears, that amidst ihe cares of his new political 
station, he was sedulously engaged in the exercise of his 
ministerial gift. 

In a letter dated at Chester, on the 29th of Tenth 
month of this year, he says : " I bless the Lord I am 
very well and much satisfied with my place and portion, 
yet busy enough, having much to do to please all, and yet 
to have an eye to those who are not here to please them- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 275 

selves. As to outward things we arc satisfied ; the land 
good, the air clear and sweet, the springs plentiful, and 
provision good and easy to come at, an innumerable quan- 
tity of wild-fowl and fish ; in fine, here is what an Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob would be well contented with ; and 
service enough for God, for the fields are white for har- 
vest. Oh, how sweet is the quiet of these parts, freed 
from the anxious and troublesome solicitations, heresies, 
and perplexities of woeful Europe. . . . 

" Blessed be the Lord, of twenty-three ships none mis- 
carried, only two or three had the small-pox, else healthy 
and quick passages, generally such as had not been known ; 
some but twenty-eight days, and few longer than six 
weeks. Blessed be God for it, who is good to us, and 
follows with his abundant kindness. My soul fervently 
breathes, that in his heavenly guiding wisdom we may be 
kept ; that we may serve Him in our day and lay down 
our heads in peace." 

We have abundant evidence that the toils and cares 
which William Penn encountered in the settlement of 
Pennsylvania, and the establishment of the government, 
were not submitted to for the gratification of a worldly am- 
•bition, or the promotion of bis personal interests ; but that 
the advancement of the cause of universal righteousness, 
and the increase of happiness to the human family, were 
the primary and principal objects of these arduous en- 
gagements. The following letter, addressed to a person 
who had cast some unkind reflections upon him, affords a 
forcible exposition of his motives and labors : 

"My old Friend — : — I could speak largely of God's 



276 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 

dealings with me in getting this thing. What an inward 
exercise of faith and patience it cost me in passing. The 
travail was mine, as well as the debt and cost, through the 
envy of many, both professors, false friends, and profane. 
My God hath given it me in the face of the world, and it 
is to hold it in true judgment, as a reward of my suffer- 
ings, and that is seen here, whatever some despisers may 
say or think. The place God hath given me, and I never 
felt judgment for the power I kept, but trouble for what I 
parted with. It is more than a worldly title or patent 
that hath clothed me in this place. Keep thy place : I am 
in mine, and have served the God of the whole earth since 
I have been in it. Nor am I sitting down in a greatness 
that I have denied. I am day and night spending my life, 
my time, my money, and am not six-pence enriched by this 
greatness. Costs in getting, settling, transportation, and 
maintenance, now in a public manner at my own charge 
duly considered ; to say nothing of my hazard, and the 
distance I am at from a considerable estate, and which is 
morcj my dear wife and poor children. 

" Well, the Lord is a God of righteous judgment. Had 
1 sought greatness I had stayed at home, where the differ- 
ence between what I am here and was offered, and coul I . 
have been there in power and wealth, is as wide as the 
places are. No ; 1 came for the Lord's sake, and there- 
fore have I stood to this day, well and diligent, and suc- 
cessful, blessed be his power. Nor shall I trouble myself 
to tell thee what I am to the people of this place, in tra- 
vails, watchings, spcndings, and my servants every way : 
freely (not like a selfish man), I have many witnesses 
To conclude, it is now in Friends' hands. Through my 



PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 277 

traA^ail, faith, and patience it came If Friends here keep 
to God, and in the justice, mercy, equity, and fear of the 
Lord, their enemies will be their footstool. If not, their 
heirs, and my heirs too, will lose all, and desolation will 
follow ; but, blessed be the Lord, we are well and live in 
the dear love of God, and the fellowship of his tender 
heavenly Spirit, and our faith is for ourselves and one 
another that the Lord will be with us a King and a 
Counsellor forever. 

" Thy ancient, though grieved friend, 

William Penn. 
" Chester, 5th of the Twelfth month, 1682." 

William Penn, tradition says, went from Chester to the 
site of Philadelphia, with some of his friends, in a barge, 
and landed at the mouth of Dock Creek, the present Dock 
Street. Some streets, it is supposed, had been laid out in 
accordance with his plan, part of which was that the whole 
river-front for a considerable distance back should be for- 
ever kept open for public use. He also designed the plot 
of the city to embrace 10,000 acres. The first of these 
provisions has been disregarded, and the last was changed 
in condescension to the judgment of his surveyor, and lim- 
ited to 1200 acres. The far-seeing wisdom of William 
Penn, with regard to both of them, has appeared clearly 
in the light of the succeeding years. 

In the autumn of this year (but whether previously to 
his visit to Maryland or not, is a little doubtful), was held 
at Shackamaxon the celebrated treaty with the Indians. 
It is a subject of regret, that so little information which 
can be entirely relied upon, in relation to this troaty, now 



278 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

remains. There are, however, relations in Indian speeches, 
and traditions in families descended from those who were 
present on the occasion, from which we may learn some- 
thing- concerning it. It appears that, though the parties 
were to assemble at Coaquannoc, the treaty was made a 
little higher up, at Shackamaxon, now Kensington, a part 
of Philadelphia.* There was at Shackamaxon, near the 
river-side, a very large elm-tree, and under its widespread 
branches William Penn and his friends and the Indians 
assembled. He addressed them through an interpreter, 
saying that the Great Spirit who made him and them, who 
ruled the heaven and the earth, and who knew the inner- 
most thoughts of man, knew that he and his friends had a 
hearty desire to live in peace and friendship with them, 
and to serve them to the utmost of their power. It was 
not their custom to use hostile weapons against their fel- 
low-creatures, for which reason they had come unarmed. 
Their object was not to do injury, and thus provoke the 
Great Spirit, but to do good. They were then met on 
the fcroad pathway of good faith and good will, so that no 
advantage was to be taken on either side, but all was to 
be openness, brotherhood, and love. After these and 
other words, he unrolled the parchment, and by means of 
the same interpreter conveyed to them the words of the 
compact then made for their eternal union. Among other 
things, they w^ere not to be molested in their lawful pur- 
suits even in the territory they had alienated, for it was 
to be common to them and the English. They were to 
have the same liberty to do all things therein relating to 
the improvement of their grounds, and providing suste- 
nance for their families, which the English had. If any 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 279 

disputes should arise between the two, they should be 
settled by twelve persons, half of whom should be Eng- 
lish and half Indians. He then made them many pres- 
ents from the merchandise which had been spread before 
them. Having done this, he laid the roll of parchment 
on the ground, observing again, that the ground should 
be common to both people. He then added that he would 
not compare the friendship between him and them to a 
chain, for the rain might sometimes rust it, or a tree 
might fall and break it ; but he should consider them as 
the same flesh and blood with the Christians, and the 
same as if one man's body were to be divided into two 
parts. He then took up the parchment and presented it 
to the sachems, and desired them to preserve it carefully 
for three generations, that their children might know 
what had passed between them, just as if he had remained 
himself with them to repeat it. 

That William Penn must have done and said a great 
deal more on this interesting occasion than has now been 
represented, there can be no doubt It is also to be re- 
gretted that the speeches of the Indians on this memora- 
ble day have not come down to us. It is only known 
that they solemnly pledged themselves, according to their 
country manner, to live in love with William Penn and 
his children as long as the sun and moon should endure. 
It was at this time that William Penn first entered 
personally into that friendship with them which ever 
afterwards continued between them, and which, for the 
space of more than seventy years, was never interrupted, . 
or so long as the Friends retained power in the govern- 
ment. His conduct to these people wa-s so engaging, his 



280 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

justice so conspicuous, and the counsels T^hich he gave 
them were so evidently for their adv^antage, that he be» 
came very much endeared to them. The Iroquois called 
him Onas, and the Delawares Miquon, both words signi- 
fying a quiil or pen; and wherever any remnants of the 
Indian tribes who knew him then are found, his name is 
held in honor ; and even a membership in the religious 
Society with whom he is associated in their memory, is 
a passport to their confidence. 

In the early part of 1683, William Penn met the Pro- 
vincial Council, and afterwards the Assembly, at Philadel- 
phia. 

The three lower counties, now the State of Delaware, 
having been united, by their request, to the Province of 
Pennsylvania, the council was composed of three mem- 
bers from each of those counties and from the counties of 
Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester ; and the Assembly had 
nine members from each. The charter being under con- 
sideration, the Proprietary told them ''they might amend, 
alter, or add for the public good, and that he was ready to 
settle such foundations as might be for their happiness and 
the good of their posterit\^" 

A new charter was accordingly agreed to, embracing 
the same principles as the first, but altering a few details. 
The Assembly voted the Proprietary an impost on certain 
imports and exports, which he generously declined. 

After this it appears that he was occupied in making 

purchases of land from the Indians. By the terms of 

. one of them it was to extend "as far back as a man could 

walk in three days." William Penn and some of his 

friends and a number of Indian chiefs started to measure 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 281 

it, and walked leisurely up the Delaware, from the mouth 
of the Neshaminy, for a day and a half, and then stopped, 
William Fenn concluding that that was enough for pres- 
ent settlement, leaving the rest to be measured when it 
might be needed. The remainder was not marked out 
till 1733, when the then Governor of Pennsylvania — an 
unworthy successor, as surveyor, of the generous Proprie- 
tary and simple-hearted Indians — employed a noted fast 
walker, who made eighty-six miles in the remaining day 
and a half. This disgraceful act made the first breach in 
the confidence of the Indians. 
24* 



282 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 



XIV. 

WITHIN little, nore than a year after the arrangements 
were made for settling the province, between twenty 
and thirty vessels arrived, bringing more than two thou- 
sand individuals. A large part of these were members 
of the religious Society of Friends. They had left their 
own country to avoid the vexations and vices of Europe, 
that they might lead quiet and peaceable lives and wor- 
ship God according to their conscientious persuasion. 
Though these emigrants were not generally rich, yet 
many of them possessed considerable estates, and were 
persons of good education. They were mostly sober, 
industrious people, of reputable characters, well qualified 
to advance the interests of this rising colony. As they 
arrived in succession, they were kindly received and as- 
sisted by those who were there before them ; and scat- 
tering along the Delaware, as choice or convenience sug- 
gested, the country was thinly peopled from the falls at 
Trenton to Chester. The inhabitants, including the Dutch 
and Swedes, who had been long resident in the country, 
are computed at the time to which we have arrived to be 
about four thousand, so that William Penn may be said to 
have raised up a colony at once in his new domains. 

In the course of 1682 and the two following years great 
numbers of emigrants arrived from England, Ireland, 
Wales, Holland, aud Germany, who extended their settle- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 283 

ments into the interior of the country. The Welsh set- 
tled on both sides of the Schuylkill, and have left, in the 
names of the townships Merion, Haverford, Radnor, Gwy- 
nedd, etc., a lasting- memorial of their old homes. Among 
the emigrants from Germany were a number of Friends, 
formerly inhabitants of Crisheim in the Palatinate, among 
whom William Penn had travelled in the service of the 
Gospel during the year 1677. They formed the flourish- 
ing settlement of Germantown, and by their opportune 
removal to the asylum which was provided for them, es- 
caped the calamity which a few years afterward overtook 
their native land, when Louis XIY., in the wantonness of 
power, desolated the Palatinate with fire and sword. 

William Penn having dispatched the public business of 
the colony, as far as his presence was necessary, and hav- 
ing superintended the works in his new city, went on a 
journey of observation into the province. On his return 
to Pennsbury, his residence on the Delaware above Phil- 
adelphia, he wrote a letter to " The Free Society of Trad- 
ers of Pennsylvania," in which he communicated the re- 
sult of his discoveries, from which the following extracts 
are taken : 

" My Kind Friends .-—The kindness of yours by the 
ship Thomas and Ann doth much oblige me ; for by it I 
perceive the interest you take in my health and reputation 
and in the prosperous beginning of this province. 

" In the first place I take notice of the news you sent 
me, whereby I find some persons have had so little wit, 
and so much malice, as to report my death ; and, to mend 
the matter, dead a Jesuit, too. One might have reason- 



284 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

obl}^ hoped that this distance, like death, would have been 
a protection against spite and envy ; and, indeed, absence 
being a kind of death ought alike to secure the name of 
the absent as of the dead, because they are equally unable 
as such to defend themselves. But I perceive many frivo- 
lous and idle stories have been invented since my depart- 
ure from England, which perhaps at this time are no more 
alive than I am dead. 

" But if I have been unkindly used by some I left be- 
hind me, I found love and respect enough where I came — 
an universal, kind welcome, every sort in their way. For 
here are some of several nations, as well as divers judg- 
ments. Nor were the natives wanting in this, for their 
kings, queens, and great men both visited and presented 
me, to whom I made suitable returns." 

After giving full and interesting accounts of the cli- 
mate, character of the land, and productions, he speaks of 
the Indians : "For their persons they are generally tall, 
straight, well built, and of singular proportion. They 
tread strong and clever, and mostly walk with a lofty 
chin. Their language is lofty, yet narrow ; but, like the 
Hebrew in signification, full. Like shorthand in writing, 
one word serveth in the place of three, and the rest are 
supplied by the understanding of the hearer — imperfect in 
their tenses, wanting in their moods, participles, adverbs, 
conjunctions, interjections. I have made it my business 
to understand it, that I might not want an interpreter 
on any occasion ; and I must say that I know not a lan- 
guage spoken in Europe that hath words of more sweet- 
ness or greatness, in accent and emphasis, than theirs. 

*' If an European comes to see them, or calls for lodging 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 285 

at their house or wig-warn, they give him the best place 
and first cut. If they come to visit us, they sal ate us 
with an Itah, which is as much as to say, ' Good be to 
you ! ' and set them down, which is mostly on the ground, 
close to their heels, their legs upright. It may be they 
speak not a word, but observe all passages. If you give 
them anything to eat or drink, well, for they will not ask ; 
and be it little or much, if it be with kindness, they are 
well pleased ; else they go away sullen, but say nothing. 

"But in liberality they excel. Nothing is too good 
for their friend. Give them a fine gun, coat, or other 
thing, it may pass twenty hands before it sticks : light of 
heart, strong affections, but soon spent : the most merry 
creatures that live ; they feast and dance perpetually ; 
they never have much nor want much. Wealth circu- 
lateth like the blood. All parts partake ; and though none 
shall want what another hath, yet exact observers of pro- 
perty. Some kings have sold, others presented me with 
several parcels of land. The pay or presents I made them 
were not hoarded by the particular owners; but the 
neighboring kings and their clans being present when the 
goods were brought out, the parties chiefly concerned con- 
sulted what, and to whom, they should give them. 

"They care for little, because they want but little ; and 
the reason is, a little contents them. We sweat and toil 
to live. Their pleasure feeds them ; I mean their hunting, 
fishing, and fowling, and this table is spread everywhere. 
They eat twice a day, morning and evening. Their seats 
and table are the ground. Since the Europeans .came into 
these parts, '.hey are grown great lovers of strong liquors, 
rum especia ly ; and for it exchange the richest of their 



286 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

skins and furs. If they are treated with liquor, they are 
restless till they have enough to sleep. That is their cry, 
'some more and I will go to sleep;' but when drunk, 
one of the most wretched spectacles in the world. In 
sickness impatient to be cured, and for it give anything, 
especially for their children, to whom they are extremely 
natural. They are choice of the graves of their dead ; 
for, lest they should be lost by time, and fall to common 
use, they pick off the grass that grows upon them, and 
heap up the fallen earth with great care and exactness. 

"These poor people are under a dark night in things re- 
lating to religion, to be sure the tradition of it ; yet they 
believe a God and immortality without the help of meta- 
physics ; for they say there is a great King, who made 
them, who dwells in a glorious country to the southward 
of them ; and that the souls of the good shall go thither, 
where they shall live again. Their worship consists of 
two parts, sacrifice and cantico. Their sacrifice is their 
first-fruits. The first and fattest buck they kill goeth to 
the fire, where he is all burnt, with a mournful ditty of him 
who performeth the ceremony, but with such marvellous 
fervency and labor of body that he will even sweat to a 
foam. The other part is their cantico, performed by round 
dances, sometimes words, sometimes songs, then shouts ; 
two being in the middle who begin, and by singing and 
drumming on a board direct the chorus. Their postures 
in the dance are very antic and differing, but all keep 
measure. This is done with equal earnestness and 
labor, but great appearance of joy. In the fall, when 
the corn cometh in, they begin to feast one another. 
There have been two great festivals already, to which 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 287 

all come that will. I was at one myself. Their enter- 
tainment was a great seat by a spring under some shady 
trees, and twenty bucks with hot cakes of new corn, both 
wheat and beans, which they make up in a square form in 
the leaves of the stem, and bake them in the ashes, and 
after that they fall to dance. But they who go must 
carry a small present in their money ; it may be sixpence, 
which is made of the bone of a fish ; the black is with 
them as gold; the white silver; they call it wampum. 

" I have had occasion to be in council with them upon 
treaties for land, and to adjust the terms of trade. Their 
order is thus ; the king sits in the middle of a half-moon, 
and has his council, the old and wise on each hand. 
Behind them, or at a little distance, sit the younger fry in 
the same figure. Having consulted and resolved their 
business, the king ordered one of them to speak to me. 
He stood up, came to me, and in the name of his king 
saluted me, then he took me by the hand, and told me that 
he was ordered by his king to speak to me, and that now 
it was not he but the king who spoke, because what he 
should say was the king's mind. Having thus introduced 
his matter, he fell to the bounds of the land they had 
agreed to dispose of, and the price ; which now is little 
and dear, that which would have bought twenty miles 
not buying now two. During the time that this person 
spoke, not a man of them was observed to whisper or 
smile, the old grave, the young reverent, in their deport- 
ment. They speak little, but fervently, and with elegance. 
I have never seen more natural sagacity, considering them 
without the help (I was going to say, the spoil) of tradition ; 
and he will deserve the name of wise, who outwits them 



288 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

in any treaty about a thing they understand. When the 
purchase was agreed, great promises passed between us 
of kindness and good neighborhood, and that the English 
and .Indians must live in love as long as the sun gave 
light ; which done, another made a speech to the Indians 
in the name of all the Sachamakers or Kings ; first to tell 
them what was done ; next, to charge and command them 
to love the Christians, and particularly to live in peace 
with me and the people under my government ; that many 
governors had been in the river ; but that no governor had 
come himself to live and stay there before ; and having 
now such an one, who had treated them well, they should 
never do him or his any wrong ; at every sentence of 
which they shouted, and said Amen in their way. 

" TTe have agreed, that in all differences between us, six 
of each side shall end the matter. Do not abuse them, but 
let them have justice, and you win them. The worst is, 
that they are the worse for the Christians, who have pro- 
pagated their vices, and yielded them tradition for ill and 
not for good things. But as low an ebb as these people 
are at, and as inglorious as their own condition looks, the 
Christians have not outlived their sight with all their pre- 
tensions to an higher manifestation. What good then 
might not a good people graft where there is so distinct a 
knowledge left of good and evil ? I beseech God to in- 
cline the hearts of all that come into these parts to outlive 
the knowledge of the natives by a fixt obedieGce to their 
greater knowledge of the' will of God ; for it were miser- 
able indeed for us to fall under the just censure of tho 
poor Indian conscience, while we make profession of things 
BO far transcending. 



OF WILLIAM P E N X . 289 

" For their original, I am ready to believe them of the 
Jewish race, I mean of the stock of the ten tribes, and 
that for the following reasons ; first, they were to go to a 
land not planted nor known, which, to be sure, Asia and 
Africa were, if not Europe : and He who intended that 
extraordinary judgment upon them, might make the 
passage not uneasy to them, as it is not impossible in 
itself from the easternmost parts of Asia to the western- 
most of America. In the next place, I find them of the 
like countenance, and their children of so lively re- 
gemblance, that a man would think himself in Duke's 
Place or Berry Street, in London, when he seeth them. 
But this is not all ; they agree in rites ; they reckon by 
moons ; they offer their first-fruits ; they have a kind of 
feast of tabernacles ; they are said to lay their altar upon 
twelve stones ; their mourning a year ; with many other 
things that do not now occur. 

" Philadelphia, the expectation of those who are con- 
cerned in this province, is at last laid out, to the great 
content of those here who are any way interested therein. 
The situation is a neck of land, and lieth between two 
navigable rivers, Delaware and Schuylkill, whereby it 
hath two fronts upon tbe water, each a mile, and two 
from river to river. Delaware is a glorious river ; but 
the Schuylkill, being an hundred miles beatable above the 
falls, and its course north-east towards the fountain of 
Susquahanna (that tends to the heart of the province, 
and both sides our own), it is like to be a great part of 
tlie settlement of this age. This I will say for the good 
providence of God, of all the places I have seen in the 
world I remember not one better seated ; so that it seems 
25 T 



290 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

to me to have been appointed for a town, whether we re- 
gard the rivers, or the conveniency of the coves, docks 
and springs, the loftiness and soundness of the land, and 
the air, held by the people of these parts to be very good. 

" I bless God I am fully satisfied with the country and 
entertainment I got in it ; for I find that particular content 
which hath always attended me, where God in his provi 
dence hath made it my place and service to reside. You 
cannot imagine my station can be at present free of more 
than ordinary business ; and, as such, I may say it is a 
troublesome work. But the method things are putting in 
will facilitate the charge, and give an easier motion to the 
administration of affairs. However, as it is some men's 
duty to plough, some to sow, some to water, and some to 
reap, so it is the wisdom as well as the duty of a man to 
yield to the mind of Providence, and cheerfully as well as 
carefully embrace and follow the guidance of it." 

The conference with Lord Baltimore was renewed this 
year, as agreed upon in the preceding, relative to the 
boundaries of the territories. But William Penn, finding 
that the difference was not likely to be soon adjusted by 
the claimants, referred the matter to the Lords' Committee 
of Plantations in England ; subsequently the Lord Balti- 
more commissioned Colonel George Talbot to take forcible 
possession. 

This question continued for many years to be a subject 
of controversy, and was not finally adjusted till long after 
William Penn's death. Lord Baltimore's claim included 
all the lands on the western side of the Delaware from 
l^hiladelphia to the capes. William Penn resisted it with 
firmness, but with courtesy, moderation, and candor. 



OF. WILLIAM PENN. 291 

The mind of William Pemi had been, as may be naturally 
supposed, harassed by his attention to his various Ameri- 
can concerns, and particularly by the dispute between him 
and the Lord Baltimore. But that which grieved him 
most was the receipt of accounts from England at the 
persecutions under which persons who dissented from the 
Established Church, but particularly those of the Society 
to which he himself belonged, were then subjected to on 
account of their religion. Meetings in places of w^orship 
not acknowledged by the law continued to be deemed riots, 
so that many convicted on this account were then in a state 
of suffering, nearly 1500 members of his Society being im- 
prisoned in England and Wales. 

Accounts of these persecutions coming to his ear from 
time to time across the Atlantic, worked upon his benevo- 
lent feelings so as to bring him by degrees to the resolution 
of returning to England. He indulged a hope that his 
affairs in America would not suffer by a short absence ; 
and that in the interim he might become an instrument, 
by using his personal influence with the king-, which, on 
account of the place he had with his brother, the Duke of 
York, was greater than that of any other Friend, of re- 
lieving the sufferings of his oppressed countrymen and 
Friends. Xo doubt the desire he had to settle the dispute 
with Lord Baltimore, which could only be finally terminated 
by the Lords' Committee of Plantations in London, in- 
fluenced him the same way. His desire and duty to be 
with his wife and children, who were not, probably, able 
to leave their affairs at home and undergo the privations 
of a new settlement, could not bit draw him the same 
way. Nor did it escape him that by meeting his enemies 



292 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

thorc, wlio were then numerous, he would be enabled to 
do away the many calumnies which they had propagated 
concerning him in his absence. 

But many things were to be done before he could depart 
with satisfaction. An object near his heart was to know 
not only all the Indians within his own domains but those 
bordering upon them, with a view to their civilization and 
the perpetuation of love and friendship on both sides. He 
had held frequent conferences with them for these purposes; 
in which he had advised them against the use of strong 
liquors, and endeavored to inculcate in them a just sense 
of the benefit of a Christian life and conduct ; but now he 
redoubled his efforts, and this with so much success that, 
before the time of his departure came, he had made, at 
Pennsbury and other places, treaties of amity with no less 
than nineteen tribes of a different name. Indeed nothing 
could exceed his love for these poor people, or his desire 
of instructing them, so as to bring them by degrees to the 
knowledge of the Christian religion ; and in this great 
work he spared no expense, though whatever he bestowed 
in this way came solely out of his own pocket. Oldmixon 
says " that he laid out several thousand pounds to instruct, 
support, and oblige them." The consequence was, on their 
part, an attachment to him and his successors which was 
never broken. 

About this time he wrote an epistle to the members of 
his own religious Society in Pennsylvania, part of which 
is subjoined : 

" Friends, it is upon me, and long hath been, from the 
God of truth and righteousness, to communicate to you a 
short word of counsel and advice. God hath brought us 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 293 

hither, and we are yet among the living. He hath a work 
for us to do here, though the spiteful and envious will not 
believe us. that we may be faithful to the measure of 
grace received, that the evil-minded may be disappointed ! 
Friends, keep in the sense of that which first visited you 
and kept you, and He that was with you to bless you in 
your native country, will be with you and bless you and 
yours, and make you a blessing to them that you are 
come among, who know Him not, in this wilderness, 
also. The earth is the Lord's, and his presence fills it, 
and his power upholds it, and it is a precious thing to 
enjoy and use it in the sense and feeling of the same ; 
truly this honor have all the saints, to whom He will 
give it for a quiet habitation. Have a care of cumber and 
the love and care of the world. It is the temptation that 
lieth nearest to those who are redeemed from looseness, or 
not addicted to it. God hath ordained the world for a 
footstool, and we must not make a throne of it, nor doth 
it become them who seek heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 
Show forth a blessed example, for the Lord's sake ; and 
truly, blessed is that man and woman w^ho in the invisible 
powder rule their afi'ections about the visible, things, and 
who use the world as true travellers and pilgrims, whose 
iiome is not here below; such do not extort, grind, or 
oppress their neighbors in their dealings, but are con- 
tent with moderate gain, looking to the blessing that fol- 
lows. And, dear friends, remember who it was that said 
to his children and followers, ' Ye are brethren ; ' where- 
fore love one another, and help and assist and comfort one 
another. This was the new and living commandment of 
our blessed Lord and Master, which if you keep, then cud 
25* 



294 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

you not fall out, backbite, slander, go to law, or hate ono 
another, in the sight of the world, and that for the thinga 
that perish. 

" My friends, remember that the Lord hath brought 
you upon the stage. He hath now tried you with liberty, 
yea, and with power, too ; He hath now put precious oppor- 
tunities into your hands ; have a care of a perverse spirit, 
and do not provoke the Lord ; but sanctify God, the living 
God, in your hearts, that his blessings may fall and rest as 
the dew of heaven upon you and your offspring ; then 
shall it be seen by the nations, that there is no enchant- 
ment against Jacob, nor divination against Israel, but 
your tents shall be goodly, and your dwellings glorious ; 
which is the daily humble supplication of my soul to my 
God and your God, and to my Father and your Father." 

While he was making preparations for going to Eng- 
land, the ketch Endeavour arrived from there, and an- 
chored off Philadelphia. She brought passengers and 
letters, among them one to William Penn from Stephen 
Crisp, his old friend, to whom he wrote with so much 
feeling at the time of his first sailing for his new colony. 
It is the teijder counsel of a man of great wisdom and 
spiritual discernment ; who knew his friend well, and had 
a sense of the trials which were upon him and awaiting 
him, and of his need to "receive a sound judgment of 
men," to be a defence against his own generosity and 
nobility of spirit. 

"Dearly Beloved in the Lord: 

*' My soul salutes thee in the fellowship of that life that 
reigns over death and darkness, in which is the kingdom 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 295 

we seek. Nothing enters tbis kingdom but what is born 
of this life immortal ; and that we maybe kept in it to the 
end of our days is the humble prayer of thy true friend 
and brother in this heavenly relation, in which thou may 
feel my integrity in a few words. 

. ''Dear William, I have had a great exercise of spirit 
concerning thee, which none knows but the Lord ; for my 
spirit hath been much bowed into thy concern, and dif- 
ficulty of thy present circumstance. I have had a sense 
of the various spirits, and intricate cares, and multiplicity 
of affairs, and they of various kinds, which daily attend 
thee, enough to drink up thy spirit and tire thy soul ; and 
which, if it is not kept to the inexhaustible fountain, may 
be dried up.. This I must tell thee which thou also knows, 
that the highest capacity of natural wit and parts will not, 
and cannot, perform what thou hast to do : viz., to propa- 
gate and advance the interest and profit of the govern- 
ment and plantation, and at the same time to give the in- 
terest of Truth and testimony of the holy name of God its 
due preference in all things ; for to make the wilderness 
sing forth the praise of God is a skill beyond the wisdom 
of this world. It is greatly in man's power to make a 
wilderness into fruitful fields, according to the com- 
mon course of God's providence, who gives wisdom 
and strength to be industrious ; but, then, how He who is 
the Creator, may have his due honor and service thereby, 
is only taught by his spirit, in them who singly wait upon 
Him. 

"There is a wisdom in government that hath respect to 
its own preservation by setting up what is profitable to it, 
and suppressing what may be a detriment. This is the 



296 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

image of the true wisdom ; but the substance is the birth 
that is heavenly, which reigns in the Father's kingdom 
till all is subdued, and then gives it up to Him whose it 
is. There is a power on earth which is of God, by which 
princes decree justice — this is the image ; and there is a 
power which is heavenly, in which the Prince of Peace, 
the Lord of lords, doth reign in an everlasting kingdom, 
and this is the substance. By this power is the spiritual 
wickedness in high places brought down. He that is a 
true delegate in this power can do great things for God's 
glory, and shall have his reward, and shall be a judge 
of the tribes; and whosoever else pretend to judgment 
will seek themselves. Beware of them ; the times are 
perilous. All men pretending to be believers have not 
faith in the Lord Jesus; thou hast a good comprehen- 
sion of things, wait also to receive a sound judgment of 
men. 

" I hope thou wilt bear this my style of writing to thee; 
my spirit is under great weight at the writing hereof, and 
much I have in my heart, because I love thee much. I 
cannot write much at present, but to let thee know I very 
kindly received thy letter, and was glad to hear from thee, 
and always shall be. My prayer to God is for thee and 
you all, that you may be kept in the Lord's pure and holy 
way ; and above all, for thee, dear W. P., whose feet are 
upon a mountain, by which the eyes of many are upon 
thee. The Lord furnish thee with wisdom, courage, and 
a sound judgment. Prefer the Lord's interest, and He 
will make thy way prosperous. 

" Well, dear William, I might write long ere all were 
written that lives in my heart towards thee, but, in summaj 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 297 

I love thee well, and salute thee dearly, in that which ia 
unchangeable, in which 

" I remain thy true friend, Stephen Crisp. 

"London, the 4th of the Third month, 1684." 

Having made the necessary dispositions relative to the 
administration of the government during his absence, 
strictly charging the officers entrusted with the principal 
authority to do justice to all of all degrees, without delay, 
fear, or regard, he repaired on board the vessel which was 
to convey him to the land of his nativity. He wrote from 
on board the vessel the following epistle, viz. : 

''For Thomas Lloyd, J. Clmjpoole, J. Simcock, Charles 
Taylor, and J. Harrison, to be communicated in meet- 
ings in Pennsylvania, etc., among Friends. 

" Dear Friends :— My love and my life is to you and 
with you ; and no water can quench it, nor distance wear 
it out or bring it to an end. I have been with you, cared 
over you, and served you with unfeigned love ; and you 
are beloved of me and near to me beyond utterance. I 
bless you in the name and power of the Lord ; and my 
God bless you with his righteousness, peace, and plenty, 
all the land over. Oh, that you would eye Him in all 
through all, and above all the works of your hands ; anti 
let it be your first care how you may glorify God in your 
undertakings. For to a blessed end are you brought 
hither ; and if you see and keep in the sense of that Provi- 
dence, your coming, staying, and improving will be sancti- 
fied ; but if any forget God, and call not upoii his name 
in Truth, He will pour out his plagues upon them ; and 



29S PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

they shall know who it is that judgoth the children of 
men. 

"0, von are now come to a qniet land; provoke not 
the Lord to trouble it. And now that liberty and authority 
are with you, and in your hands, let the government be 
upon his shoulders, in all your spirits ; that you may rule 
for Him, under whom the princes of this world will one 
day esteem it their honor to g-overn and serve in their 
places. I cannot but say, when these things come mightily 
upon my mind, as the apostle did of old, ' What manner 
of persons ought we to be, in all holy conversation and 
godliness ? ' 

"And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this 
province, named before thou wert born, what love, what 
care, what service, and w4iat travail has there been to bring 
thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and 
defile thee ! 

" that thou mayst be kept from the evil that would 
overwhelm thee! that, faithful to the God of thy mercies, 
in the life of righteousness thou mayst be preserved to th© 
end. My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayst 
stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blessed 
of the Lord, and thy people saved by his power. 

" So, dear friends, my love again salutes you all, wish- 
ing that grace, mercy, and peace, with all temporal bless- 
ings, may abound richly among you; so says, so prays 
your friend and lover in the Truth, 

William Pexn. 

"From on board ^lie ketch Eudeavor, the Sixth month, 1G84." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 299 



XV. 

WILLIAM PENN landed in England after a passage 
of about seven weeks. A letter has been preserved 
which he wrote soon after his arrival to Margaret Fox, the 
wife of George Fox, in which he says : " It is now a few 
days above three weeks since I arrived well in my native 
land. It was within seven miles of my own house, where 
I found my dear wife and poor children well, to the over- 
coming of my heart, because of the mercies of the Lord to 
us." We find by this letter, in which he thanked her for 
the love she had shown his wife during his absence, " that 
he had not missed a meal's meat or a night's rest since he 
went to that country ; and that wonderfully had the Lord 
preserved him through many troubles, in the settlement 
he had made, both with respect to the government and the 
soil." With respect to the settlement, notwithstanding 
the false reports in circulation, — reports arising from envy, 
he could say " that things went on sweetly with Friends 
there ; that many increased finely in their outward things, 
and gi'ew also in wisdom, and that their meetings were 
blessed, of which there were no less than eighteen in the 
province." 

Another letter has been preserved which he wrote, some 
weeks after that to Margaret Fox, to his friend Stephen 
Crisp. This worthy minister had written to him since 
his arrival in England, to inform him of the many reports 



800 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

in circulation that were injurious to his character. One 
of the charges that were made against him was, that he had 
dishonored his religious profession as a Quaker. To this 
he replied " that he knew of no act of hostility. There 
was an old timber-house at Newcastle, above the sessions- 
chamber, standing upon a green, on which lay seven old iron 
small cannon, some on the ground, and others on broken car- 
riages ; but there was neither a military man, nor powder, 
nor bullet, belonging to them. They were the property 
of the government of New York. How far the people 
of Newcastle might, in consequence of Colonel Talbot's 
threatenings, have drawn them into security, and paled 
about their prison since he came away, he could not tell ; 
but he was sure that, while he was there, no soldier or 
militiaman was ever seen ; nor had any individual any 
commission of war from him, nor was there any law to 
that end. With respect to making money of the settle- 
ment, another of the charges, he had never made it a matter 
of gain, but had hazarded his life, and maintained govern- 
ment and Governor these four years past. With respect 
to the alteration of the charter, about which there had been 
so much clamor, what had been altered (and that very 
little) had been by the people's desire, and not for any end 
of his ovrn. Besides the alteration was not immutable, as 
it was to be submitted to time and place and the public 
good. And with regard to the addition lately made to 
Philadelphia, it could afford no just cause of complaint. 
lie had bought the land there of the old inhabitants, the 
Swedes. This had enabled him to add eight hundred acre? 
to the city, and a mile on a navigable river. What he had 
thus bought, he had given freely to the public ; though, 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 301 

had he retainod it, considering its situation, it had been 
of extraordinary advantage to himself. Bat ho could not,' 
he said, " hope to please all." 

Soon after his arrival in England he waited on the king 
and Duke of York, as related in the following extract from 
fragments of an autobiography, published by the Ilistorical 
Society of Philadelphia : 

''I arrived from America the 6th of October, '84, at 
Wonder, in Sussex, being within seven miles of my own 
house ; whence, after some days of refreshment, I went 
to wait upon the king and duke, then both at New Mar- 
ket, who received me very graciousl}^, as did the ministers 
very civilly. Yet I found things in general with another 
face than I left them — sour and stern, and resolved to hold 
the reins of power with a stiffer hand than heretofore, es- 
pecially over those that were observed to be state or church 
dissenters, conceiving that the opposition which made the 
government uneasy came from that sort of people, and, 
therefore, they should either bow or break. 

" This made it hard for me, a professed dissenter, to 
turn myself ; for that party having been my acquaintance, 
my inclination, and my interest too: to shift them I would 
not, to serve them I saw I could not, and to keep fair with 
a displeased and resolved government, that had weathered 
its point upon them, humbled and mortified them, and was 
daily improving all advantages against them, w^as a diffi- 
cult task to perform. 

" Finding myself narrowed in this manner, I cast about 

in mind what way I might be helpful to the public and as 

little hurtful to my concerns as I could, for I had then a 

cause depending about bounds of land in America with 

26 



ii02 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the Lord Baltimore, before the council, that was of im- 
portance to me. 

" Upon the whole matter, I found no point so plain, so 
honest, so sensible, that carried such weight, conviction, 
and compassion with it, and that would consequently find 
an easier reception and more friends than liberty of con- 
science, my old post and province. I therefore sought out 
some bleeding cases, which was not hard to do, Bristol, 
Norwich, etc., being ready at hand in bloody letters, — bar- 
barities never used certainly in a Protestant country, 
especially at Bristol. The relations are in print. But 
finding them uneasy under generals, as too much to grant 
at once, I beg'an with a particular case. It was that of 
Richard Yickris, an honest, sober, and sensible man, of 
good reputation and estate in that city. He was under 
sentence of death, upon the statute of the o5th of Queen 
Elizabeth, for not abjuring the realm as Dr. Cheny did, 
that was under sentence. His crime only worshipping 
of God his own way, but could not abjure because ho 
could not swear at all. The heat had been great in that 
city, and an example they would make, and chose these 
two men, as eminent in their persuasion and as having 
something to lose. Bat the thing looked so like a snare, 
the fruit of private malice and avarice, and the said B. 
Vickris being a meek and quiet person, upon my assuring 
them he was, and would live peaceably under the govern- 
ment, the duke promised to press the king in his favor, 
who grew harsh and very tender to be spoken to upon 
that head, though for the very Papists in the new case of 
the long writ set a-foot about that time. And the duke 
was as good as his word. He was pardoned. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. SOo 

"That my design might succeed the better with the 
king, it came into my mind to write something of the 
true interest of the king and kingdom, have it transcribed 
ftiir, and present it in manuscript, the times being too set 
and rough for print. In this I undertook to show, that 
since it was so that this kingdom was divided into such 
great bodies, opposite to each other, and near an equality 
in strengtli and value, all things considered, though not 
perhaps in number, and that nothing would serve either 
party but the ruin of the other, and that it was too great 
a loss to his crown to gratify either so far, he was not to 
suffer his authority to humor their passions, but overrule 
both with justice, wisdom, and goodness, that he might 
be king and have the benefit of his whole people. 

"Adding, that he might be easy if the uneasy are made 
so, and not sooner ; and that the revenue was not as in 
old time, upon tenures and in lands, but upon trade, which 
lay much in the hands of the party he was angry with ; 
however, that it would discourage and confound trade, to 
be sure, if he changed the course of his government, and 
therefore to look upon past things as a king, and not as a 
man, without passion, and not suffer his own resentment 
or his ministers' flatteries, interests, or revenges to carry 
him further than was good for his interest. And that 
upon the trial of a true liberty of conscience, he would 
find [it] more the advantage of the crown than any pri- 
vate man or particular party." 

A letter of William Penn to Thomas Lloyd, dated the 
16th of the First month (March), 1685, informs him of 
the death of King Charles II. : 

" The king is dead, and the duke succeeds peaceably 



804 PASSAGES FROM THE LlJE 

He was well on First day night, being the first of Feb- 
ruary, so called. About eight next morning, as he sat 
down to shave, his head twitched both ways or sides, 
and he gave a shriek and fell as dead, and so remained 
some hours. They opportunely blooded and cupped him 
and plied his head with red-hot frying-pans. He returned 
(revived), and continued till Sixth day noon, but mostly 
in great tortures. ,He seemed very penitent, asking par- 
don of all, even the poorest subject he had wronged ; 
prayed for pardon, and to be delivered out of the world 
. — the duke appearing mighty humble and sorrowful. . . . 
He was an able man for a divided and troubled kingdom. 
The present king was proclaimed about three o'clock that 
day. A proclamation followed, with the king's speech, to 
maintain the church and state as established, to keep prop- 
erty and use clemency. Severities continue still, but some 
ease to us faintly promised. Be careful that no indecent 
speeches pass against the government, for the king, going 
with his queen publicly to mass at Whitehall, gives occa- 
sion. He declared he concealed himself to obe}^ his orother, 
and that now he would be above-board, which we like the 
better on many accounts. I was with him-, and told him 
so ; but, withal, hoped we si^ mid come in for a share. He 
smiled, and said he desired not that peaceable people should 
be disturbed for their religion. And till his coronation, the 
23d, when he and his consort are together to be crowned, 
no hopes of release ; and till the Parliament no hopes of 
any fixed liberty. My business, I would hope, is better. 
The late king, the Papists will have, died a Roman Cath- 
olic; for he refused (after his usual way of evading un- 
easy things, with unpreparedness first and then weakness"^ 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 805 

the Church of Eng-land's communion, Bishop Ken, of Wells, 
pressing him that it would be to his comfort and that of 
his- people to see he died of that religion he had made pro- 
fession of when living, but it would not do ; and once all 
but the duke, Earl of Bath, and Lord Feversham were 
turned out, and one Huddlestone, a Komish priest, was 
seen about that time near the chamber. This is most of 
our news. The popish lords and gentry go to Whitehall 
to mass daily, and the tower or royal chapel is crammed, 
by vieing with the Protestant lords and gentry. 

''Alas ! the world is running over to you ; and great 
quantities together [alluding to large purchases made by 
speculators at first prices] is to put the sale of lands out 
of my own hands, after I have spent what I got by my 
own on the public service, for I am £3000 worse in my 
estate than at first : I can say it before the Lord : I have 
only the comfort of having approved myself a faithful 
steward to my understanding and ability ; and yet I hope 
my children shall receive it in the love of yours when 
we arc gone." "Keep up the people's hearts and loves, 
etc. I hope to be with them next fall, if the Lord pre- 
vent not. I long to be with you. No temptations pre- 
vail to fix me here. The Lord send us a good meeting. 
Amen, etc." 

AVilliam Penn had for many years been admitted to 
familiar friendship by James, while Duke of York. Being 
desirous of improving the influence which he possessed 
with the king, to the advantage of his suffering friends, 
he took lodgings at Kensington, a village two miles west 
of London. He appears to have made it his business to 
serve his friends ; and as every man is a friend to him thai 



306 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

giveth gifts, he soon found the number of his very great. 
His house and gates were daily thronged with clients and 
suppliants desiring him to present their addresses to the 
king. According to Gerard Croese, there were sometimes 
upwards of two hundred of these applicants in attendance. 
But instead of becoming impatient with their importu- 
nity, he treated them with the utmost kindness, and pro- 
moted their desires with promptitude and cheerfulness. 
Instead of seeking emolument from these incessant labors, 
he often defrayed, out of his own funds, the expense un- 
avoidably attendant upon the preparation of the documents 
which passed through his hands. Yet, numerous as were 
the applications for the employment of his interest at court, 
he does not appear to have waited for an application when 
he knew of cases in which his interference could be of use ; 
nor were his efforts confined to those in which the members 
of his own religious Society were concerned. 

Soon after the accession of King James, an address was 
presented to him showing that upward of 1400 members of 
the Society of Friends were prisoners in England and 
Wales, on account of their religion. " Besides some 
hundreds had died prisoners, many by means of this 
long imprisonment, since the year 1G80, thereby making 
widows and fatherless, and leaving poor innocent families 
desolate in distress and sorrow." But they were not 
freed till a year afterwards, and then chiefly through 
William Penn's efforts. 

The following is an extract from a letter by William 
Penn to his steward, James Harrison, dated Kensing- 
ton, 11th of Fifth month (July), 1685. "We are all 
well through the Lord's mercy, and long to be with you, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 307 

especially the children ; my business here has been 
thrown off, with other people's, first by the late king's 
death, then the coronation, next the Parliaraent, now this 
insurrection, almost over, for the Duke of Monmouth is 
defeated, and he and Grey taken ; will be brought up to 
London next third day. I hope now I may be dispatched. 
We had a blessed, quiet, though but a small General Meet- 
ing ; things are very well on Truth's account in' this nation 
and Ireland. 

" Salute me to Friends generally, and to your meeting 
especially. I beseech God to bless you with Joseph's 
portion. My love to my family [his servants at Penns- 
bury]. 

'' that they would, from the Lord, be sober and dili- 
gent, that they may have a good name and be my joy." 

The Duke of Monmouth's insurrection and defeat was 
followed by many cruel executions. In a letter of Penn 
to James Harrison, dated 2d of Eighth month (October), 
1C85, he says; "About three hundred hanged in divers 
towns in the west, about one thousand to be transported. 
I begged tvfenty of the king. Col. Holmes, young Hays, 
the two Hewlings, Lark, and Hix, ministers, are executed. 
Preparations in Westminster Hall for trial of Lords Grey, 
Delamere, Gerard, etc. Sir G. Gerard and Sir R. Cotton 
committed. 

" The keeper dead, and Lord Jeffreys, Chief-Justice and 

Baron of W , made Lord Chamberlain, and is, as said, 

to be Earl of C ." 

In another of his letters to his stert^ari, near the same 
date, he thus refers to two executions which had just 
taken place, one of them of an excellent woman who had 



308 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

spent her life in doing goccl to the poor. " There is daily 
inquisition for those engaged in the late plots, some die 
denying, as Alderman Cornish, others confessing, but 
justifying. Cornish died last sixth day, in Cheapside, for 
being at the meeting that Lord Russell died for, but 
denied it most vehemently to the last. A woman, one 
Gaunt of Wappen, of Doct. Moore's acquaintance, was 
burned the same day at Tyburn for the high treason of 
hiding one of Monmouth's army, and the man saved came 
in [as witness] against her. She died composedly and 
fearless, interpreting the eanse of her death God's cause. 
Many more to be hanged, great and small. It is a day to 
be wise. I long to be with you, but the eternal God do 
as he pleases. ! be watchful, fear and sanctify the 
-Lord in your hearts. In France, not a meeting of Prot- 
estants left ; they force all, by not suffering them to 
sleep, to conform ; they use drums or fling water on the 
drowsy till they submit or run mad. They pray to be 
killed, but the king has ordered his dragoons to do any- 
thing but kill. * * * Such as fly and are caught, are ex- 
ecuted or sent to the galleys to row. Thus they use all 
qualities, from dukes and duchesses to the meanest of that 
way. Many [persons] and much wealth will visit your 
parts. Be wise, weighty, and strict against looseness. 
Believe me, it is an extraordinary day, such as has not 
been since generations ago. Read this to weighty Friends 
and magistrates, in private, and gird up your loins and 
serve the Lord in this juncture. No matter in what part 
they settle in our country, let not temporal interest sway, 
on my land or on their 3 that have bought of me ; no matter, 
the public will [gain] in a while by their establishment.'- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 309 

The history of Monmouth's invasion has little connen- 
lion with the biography of William Penn, except as he 
was indirectly involved in its consequences. It is well 
known that after the defeat of the duke, the military 
commanders, Feversham and Kirk, manifested very great 
cruelty towards his unfortunate accomplices ; and that 
Chief-Justice Jeffreys astonished and disgusted the nation 
by the severity with which he punished those who were 
charged with participating in the rebellion. So great 
indeed was the terror infused into the juries by the men- 
aces of the judge, that very little evidence of guilt was 
required to insure conviction ; and so unrelenting the 
rigor with which trifling offences were visited, that some 
w^ere executed for having furnished hay or victuals to 
Monmouth's soldiers. The sufferers being mostly persons 
in the humbler walks of life, could not be objects of 
jealousy with the court. Hence the severity with which 
they were treated created the greater odium. Although 
these barbarities were originally inflicted by the military 
and judicial organs of the government, the king turned 
the odium upon himself by rewarding the inhumanity of 
Jeffreys with a peerage and the office of chancellor. The 
measures which followed were generally considered as 
clear indications of a determination, on the part of the 
king, to govern the nation without regard to the restraints 
of law ; and the proceedings in favor of the Eomish re- 
ligion awakened anew the dread of popery and arbitrary 
power, w^hich the declaration of James, upon his accession 
to the crowm, had contributed to allay. 

Every part of William Penn's conduct leads to the 
conclusion that he countenanced none of these things, yet 



3l0 passages from the life 

his intimacy at coart, and his supposed influence with the 
king, turned upon him no inconsiderable share of the 
odium which attended the religion of the king and the 
measures of government. But in this case, as usually 
happens, the tongue of slander defeated its own purposes, 
at least with posterity, by loading his character with 
charges too inconsistent with its general tenor to admit 
of belief. Not satisfied with imputing to him a participa- 
tion in the political errors of James, over which he certainly 
had no control, they represented him to be Papist or Jesuit, 
or engaged in a correspondence with the Jesuits at Rome. 
He was even said to have been bred at St. Omer's, and to 
have received a priest's orders at Rome. As it was ob- 
vious he was married, which the Romish priests were 
not permitted to be, it was asserted that he had obtained 
a dispensation from the pope for that purpose. 

The charge of his being at least popishly inclined, some 
persons even in the higher ranks appear to have given 
credit to. Among this class was Dr. Tillotson, afterwards 
Archbishop of Canterbury, who, having imbibed a suspi- 
cion of him, dropped some expressions which were after- 
wards reported to his disadvantage. This coming to the 
ears of William Penn, he wrote to the doctor on the sub- 
ject; a correspondence followed, which terminated in a 
full conviction, in the mind of the latter, that the sus- 
picion was groundless. The correspondence is subjoined. 

William Penn to l)r. Tillotson. 
" Worthy Friend : — Being often told that Dr. Tillot- 
son should suspect me, and so report me, a Papist, I think 
a Jesuit, and being closely prest, I take the liberty to ask 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 311 

tli(;e if any such reflection fell from thee ; if it did, I am 
sorry one I esteemed ever the first of his robe should so 
undeservedly stain me, for so I call it ; and if the story 
be false, I am sorry they should abuse Dr. Tillotson, as 
well as myself, without a cause. I add no more but that 
I abhor two principles in religion, and pity them that own 
them. The first is obedience upon authority \wthout con- 
viction ; and the other, destroying them that differ from 
me for God's sake. Such a religion is without judgment, 
though not without teeth — union is best, if right ; else 
charity — and, as Hooker said, ' The time will come when 
a few words spoken with meekness and humility and love 
shall be more acceptable than volumes of controversies ; ' 
which commonly destroy charity, the very best part of 
true religion — I mean not a charity that can change with 
all, but bear all, as I can Dr. Tillotson in what he dissents 
from me, and in this reflection, too, if said, which is not 
yet believed by 

*'Thy Christian true friend, William Penn. 

« CrrARiNG-CROSS, 22d of the Eleventh month, 1685-86." 

Dr. Tillotson to William Penn. 

" January 26th, 1685. 
" Honored Sir : — The demand of your letter is very just 
and reasonable, and the manner of it very kind, therefore 
in answer to it, be pleased to take the following account. 
The last time you did me the favor to see me at my house, 
I did, according to the freedom I always use, where I pro- 
fess any friendship, acquaint you with something I had 
heard of a correspondence you held with some at Rome, 
and particularly with some of the Jesuits there. At 



312 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

which you seemed a little surprised, and after •some 
general discourse about it, you said you would call on 
me some other time, and speak further of it ; since that 
time I never saw you, but by accident and in passage, 
where I thought you always declined me, particularly at 
Sir William Jones's chamber, which was the last time, I 
think, I salV you ; upon which occasion I took notice to him 
of your strangeness to me, and told him what I thought 
might be the reason of it, and that I was sorry for it, be- 
cause I had a particular esteem of your parts and temper. 
"Whenever you will please to satisfy me that niy suspi- 
cion of the truth of that report I had heard was groundless, 
I will heartily beg your pardon for it. I do fully concur 
with you in the abhorrence of the two principles you men- 
tion, and in your approbation of that excellent saying of 
Mr. Hooker's, for which I shall ever highly esteem him. 
I have endeavored to make it one of the governing prin- 
ciples of my life, never to abate anything of humanity or 
charity to any man for his difference from me in opinion, 
and particularly to those of your persuasion, as several 
of them have had experience. I have been ready upon 
all occasions to do all offices of kindness, being truly sorry 
to see them so hardly used ; and though I thought them 
mistaken, yet in the main I believed them to be very hon- 
est. I thank you for your letter, and have a just esteem 
of the Christian temper of it, and rest, 

"Your faithful friend, Jo. Tillotson." 

William Penn to Dr. Tillotson. 
" Worthy Friend : — Having a much less opinion of 
my own memory than of Dr. Tillotson's truth, I will al- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 313 

low the fact, thoitg^h not the jealousy. For bcisides that 
I cannot look strangely where I am well used: I have 
ever treated the name of Dr. Tillotson with another re- 
gard. I might be grave, and full of my own business ; I 
was also then disappointed by the doctor's ; but my nature 
is not harsh, my education less, and my principle least of 
all. It was the opinion I have had of the doctor's mod- 
eration, simplicity, and integrity, rather than his parts, 
or post, that always made me set a value upon his friend- 
ship, of which, perhaps, I am better judge, leaving the 
latter to men of deeper talents. I blame him nothing, but 
leave it to his better thoughts, if in my affair, his jealousy 
was not too nimble for his charity. If he can believe me, 
I should hardly prevail with myself to endure the same 
thought of Dr. Tillotson on the like occasion, and less to 
speak of it. For the Roman correspondence T will freely 
come to confession. I have not only no such thing with 
any Jesuit at Rome (though Protestants may have with- 
out offence), but I hold none with any Jesuit, priest, or 
regular in the world, of that communion. And that the 
doctor may see what a novice I am in that business, I 
know not one anywhere. And yet, when all this is said, 
I am a Catholic, though not a Roman. I have bowels for 
mankind, and dare not deny others what I crave for my- 
self. I mean liberty for the exercise of my religion ; think- 
ing faith, piety, and Providence a better security than force, 
and that if Truth cannot prevail with her own weapons, 
all others will fail her. 

" Now, though I am not obliged to this defence, and 
that it can be no temporizing now to make it, yet that Dr. 
Tillotson may see how much lvalue his good opinion, and 
27 



814 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

dare own the truth and myself at all turns, let him be con- 
fident I am no Roman Catholic, but a Christian, whose 
er.-^-^ "■ is the Scripture, of the truth of which I hold a no- 
bler evidence than the best church authority in the world. 
I recommend him to my ' Address to Protestants,' from 
page 133 to the end, and to the four first chapters of my 
* No Cross, No Crown ; ' to say nothing of our most in- 
ceremonious and unworldly way of worship, and their 
pompous cult ; where at this time I shall leave the busi- 
ness, with all due and sensible acknowledgments to thy 
friendly temper, and assurance of the sincere wishes and 
respects of thy affectionate real friend, 

William Penn. 
" Charixg-Cross, the 29th of the Eleventh month, 1686." 

Dr. Tillotson to William Penn. 

"April the 29th, 1686. 
" Sir : — I am very sorry that the suspicion which I had 
entertained concerning you, of which I gave you the true 
account in my former letter, hath occasioned so much 
trouble and inconvenience to you. And I do now declare 
with great joy, that I am fully satisfied there was no just 
ground for that suspicion, and therefore I do heartily beg 
your pardon for it. And ever since you were pleased to 
give me that satisfaction, I have taken all occasions to vin- 
dicate you in this matter. I am very much in the coun- 
try, but will seek the first opportunity to visit you at 
Charing-cross, and renew our acquaintance, in which I 
took great pleasure. I rest, 

" Your faithful friend, 

Jo. Tillotson.'' 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 315 



XVI. 

WILLIAM PENN had received, since his residence 
in Eng-land, several letters, both private and official, 
from Pennsylvania. He was pleased to find that the 
members of his own Society had conducted themselves 
generally well, and that they had endeavored to promote 
one of his favorite objects. They had been careful to pre- 
vent the introduction of strong liquors among the Indians, 
and they had held several religious meetings with them. 
The Indians, it appears, generally heard with patience 
what was said to them at these times, and seemed affected 
by it ; but the impression was not durable. These efforts^ 
however, were very pleasing to one who knew well that 
every work must have a beginning, and that the best 
could not be brought to perfection without perseverance. 
Other intelligence contained in these letters was far from 
agreeable. 

In a letter from William Penn to James Harrison, his 
steward, dated 30th of Fifth month (July), '85, he says : 
" I have had two letters more with three bills of exchange. 
I am sorry the public is so unmindful of me as not to pre- 
vent bills upon me, that am come on their errand, and had 
rather have lost a thousand pounds than have stirred from 
Pennsylvania. The reproaches that I hear daily of the 
conduct of things, bears hard upon my spirit too. 

*' The Lord order things for his glory. James, send no 



816 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

more bills, for I have enough to do to keep all even here, 
and think of returning with my family : that can't be 
(done) without vast charge." In a letter, about the same 
time, to him and others, he says: "I am sorry at heart for 
your animosities. Cannot more friendly and private 
courses be taken, to set matters right in an infant prov- 
ince, whose steps are numbered and watched? For the 
love of God, me and the poor country, be not so govern- 
mentish, so noisy, and open in your dissatisfactions. Some 
folks love hunting in government itself." He deprecated 
the heavy charges which had been made for titles to land. 
" It is an abominable thing to have three warrants for 
one purchase ; 't is oppression that my soul loathes. Why 
not one warrant for all, at least for liberty-lot and the 
remainder ? This is true and right oppression, besides 
several things set down that are not in law nor in my 
regulations," 

It appears that he had not long left the colony before it 
fell into disorder, which shows how much his presence had 
been the life and support of it. And this disorder, which 
began with one or two individuals of looser character, 
spread to the bodies politic. The Assembly, where the 
animosities above mentioned first showed themselves, pro- 
ceeded so far as to impeach one of their members, Nicholas 
Moore, and instructed their Speaker to inform the Gov- 
ernor of the fact. 

The letter from the Assembly, though it had the appear- 
ance of being both affectionate and respectful, was the 
cause of great uneasiness to William Penn, for Moore had 
conducted himself so well, not only as a private man, but 
in his office as President of the Free Society of Traders of 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 817 

E'ennsylvania, that the Governor had made him one of 
the provincial judges before his departure for England. 
He believed that he had been far too rigidly dealt with, 
the reputed misdemeanors being of a political and not of a 
moral nature ; and, believing this, he foresaw that he 
should be obliged to signify his opinion to the Assembly, 
by which the first stone would be cast, as it were, for at 
least a temporary disagreement between them. 

Soon after this he ushered into the world a work called 
** A Persuasive to Moderation to Dissenting Christians, in 
Prudence and Conscience, humbly Submitted to the King 
and his Great Council." 

In the opening paragraph, he says : " Moderation, the 
subject of this discourse, is, in plainer English, liberty of 
conscience to church dissenters ; a cause I have, with all 
humility undertaken to plead against the prejudices of 
the times. By conscience I understand the apprehen- 
sion and persuasion a man has of his duty to God ; by 
liberty of conscience, I mean a free and open profession and 
exercise of that duty, especially in worship. But I always 
premise this duty to keep within the bounds of morality, 
and that it be neither frantic nor mischievous, but a good 
subject, a good child, a good servant in all the affairs of 
life ; as exact to yield to Cgesar the things that are Caesar's, 
as jealous of withholding from God the things that are 
God's. In brief, he that acknowledges the civil govern- 
ment under which he lives, and that maintains no princi- 
ple hurtful to his neighbor in his civil property. 

" In our own time we see the benefit of a discreet indul- 
gence. Holland, that bog of the world, neither sea nor 
dry land, now the rival of the tallest monarchs, not by 
27* 



3J8 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

conquests, marriage, or accession of royal blood, — the usual 
way to empire, — but by her own superlative clemency and 
industry, for the one was the effect of the other ; she cher- 
ished her people whatsoever were their opinions, as the 
reasonable stock of the country, the heads and hands of her 
trade and wealth, and making them easy on the main 
point, their conscience, she became great by them. This 
made her fill up with people, and they filled her with 
riches and strength." 

He proceeded to show both the prudence and reason- 
ableness of religious toleration, by the great benefits 
which would follow it. Among other arguments, such 
as that property would be more secure, and that subjects 
would be more industrious, flourishing, satisfied, and 
happy, he contended, as no trifling additional argument, 
that the prince would in that case have the benefit, not 
of a part only, but of his whole people. " As things then 
stood, no Churchman meant no Englishman, and no Con- 
formist meant no subject. Thus it may happen that the 
ablest statesman, the bravest captain, and the best citizen 
may be disabled, and the prince forbid their employment 
to his service." 

" He concluded by an appeal to nature. He considered 
the natural world as full of discordant things ; but yet, 
Providence, by his own all-wise disposition, had so brought 
them together as to produce the most perfect harmony. 
In like manner, he believed that the concord of discords 
afforded a firm basis for civil government. The business 
was to tune these discords well ; and that could be done 
by one who was a skilful musician." 

The last argument which he advanced was the happj 



OF WTLT.IAM PENN. 319 

effect of the Declaration of Indulgence made by the late 
king in 16tl. Dissenters being "uneasy, their persons and 
estates being exposed to pay the reckoning of their dissent, 
no doubt but every party shifted as they could. Most 
grew selfish, at least jealous." But after the declaration, 
"" Whitehall and St. James' were as much visited and 
courted by the dissenters and their respective agents as 
if they had been of the family ; for, that which eclipsed 
the royal goodness being by his own hand thus removed, 
his benign influences drew the returns of sweetness and 
duty from that part of his subjects which the want of 
those influences had made barren before. Then it was that 
we looked like the members of one family, and children of 
one parent ; nor did we envy our eldest brother Episcopacy 
his inheritance, so that we had but a child's portion. For 
not only discontents vanished, but no matter was left for 
ill spirits, foreign or domestic, to brood upon or hatch to 
mischief, which was a plain proof that it is the union of in- 
terests, and not of opinions, that gives peace to kingdoms." 
Such a declaration of indulgence he hoped would be made 
again. He saw no other way of putting an end to civil "an- 
imosities, which, by fresh accidents falling in, had swelled 
to a mighty deluge ; such an one as had overwhelmed our 
former civil concord and security. And pardon me if I 
say I cannot see that those waters are likely to assuage 
till this olive-branch of indulgence be some way or other 
restored. The waves will still cover our earth ; and a spot 
of earth will hardly be found in this, our glorious isle, for 
a great number of useful people to set a quiet foot upon." 
The " Persuasive to Moderation " was said to have had 
a considerable effect both upon the king and his council ; 



320 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

for very soon after its appearance in public, a proclamation 
was issued by the former for a general pardon to all those 
who were then in prison on account of their consciences. 
The result was that, of the Friends only, not less than 1200 
persons were restored to their families, many of whom had 
been in confinement for years. That this happy event 
might have sprung in part, or, as far as the council had 
any hand it, from the '' Persuasive to Moderation," as was 
then believed by many, is not-improbable ; but certain it is, 
as far as the king was concerned, that it was to be ascribed 
in a great measure to the personal solicitations of William 
Penn. While he resided at Kensington he never lost sight 
of the great object which he had left his own government 
to promote. He had opportunities of unfolding much more 
to the king on this subject than the " Persuasive to Mod- 
eration " itself contained ; and of enforcing his arguments 
by bringing to view affecting cases of individual suffering, 
and the distress and ruin of their nearest and dearest con- 
nections, deprived of their comfort and support. These 
opportunities he used freely ; and it is to his honor that 
when his most earnest entreaties were poured forth in 
behalf of the members of his own religious society, they 
were extended for all others of his countrymen, of what- 
ever religious denomination, who were suffering from the 
same cause, 

William Penn, having witnessed the happy effects of 
this proclamation, determined upon a tour to the continent 
to visit the churches there. The king, learning his i)iten- 
tion, gave him a commission which he was to execute in 
his way. He was to go to the Hague, and there confer 
with the Prince of Orange, and endeavor to gain his con- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 321 

sent to a general religious toleration in England, together 
with the removal of all tests. It has been usually supposed 
that when the king wished for toleration to his subjects, 
he had in view his favorites, the Roman Catholics, and 
that it was on their account solely that he was desirous 
of the measure. William Penn was not of this opinion. 
It was his belief that though James the Second was him- 
self a Papist, he was yet a friend to religious liberty. But 
whether this, his belief, was correct or not, the commission 
given him by the king was congenial to his own principles 
and feelings. Accordingly, when he went to the continent, 
he went first to the Hague, where he had several interviews 
with the prince on the subject. At this time, Burnet, the 
historian, was at the same court, endeavoring to prevail 
upon the prince to give his sanction to a toleration in 
England, but not to the removal of tests. Here he and 
William Penn met. They spent several hours together in 
conversing upon the point in question. William Penn 
would not relax in the least. If tests were to be a security 
for toleration, they were unnecessary, because if dissenters 
conducted themselves unconstitutionally they would come 
within the reach of the laws. This perseverance irritated 
Burnet. Indeed Burnet was not well disposed to him 
before, believing him to be a Papist, if not a Jesuit. But 
now he was prejudiced against him, so that he mentioned 
him in a way to lower him in the estimation of the reader 
when he had occasion to speak of him in the History of 
his own Times. 

Having left the Hague, he proceeded to Amsterdam and 
Utrecht ; but we know nothing after this of the particular 
places which he visited. All we know is, that he extended 

V 



322 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

his journey to Germany, and that he was satisfied with 
the result of it ; for, in a letter which he wrote to one of 
his friends in America after his return from it, he says, 
that " he had had a blessed service for the Lord." 

On his arrival in England he proceeded directly to 
Worminghurst. But here he did not remain long. The 
same cause which had occasioned him to go into Holland 
and Germany impelled him to travel over a considerable 
part of his native land. He visited Oxfordshire, War- 
wickshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, 
Yorkshire, and the counties of Westmoreland and Durham. 
In all these he labored in the vineyard of the Gospel ; and 
it appears that he was equally satisfied with this as with 
his foreign journey, thankfully confessing- that '' the Lord 
had been with him at this season in a sweet and melting 
life, to the great joy of himself and refreshment of his 
friends." 

It appears by a letter dated Worminghurst, addressed 
to Thomas Lloyd, the president of his council, to have been 
William Penn's opinion that the Assembly had conducted 
themselves rashly. ''I rejoice," says he, "that God has 
preserved your health so well, and that his blessings are 
upon the earth, but grieved at the bottom of my heart for 
the heats and disorders among the people. This quarrel 
about ' the Free Society of Traders ' has made your great 
guns heard hither. I entreat thee to consider of the true 
reason of our unhappiness of that side (Pennsylvania) 
among our magistrates. Is it not their self-value ? Men 
should be meek, humble, grave. This draws reverence 
and love together. This wise and good men will do. Is 
any one out of the way ? They should not so much look 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 323 

at his infirmities, as take care they are not also overtaken ; 
eyeing how many good qualities the offender has to serve 
the public, and not cast a whole apple away for one side 
being defective." 

Penn wrote to his friend, James Harrison, as follows : — ■ 
" For my coming over (to Pennsylvania) cheer up the 
people ; I press what I can, but the great undertakings 
that crowd me, and to raise money to get away, hinders 
me yet, but my heart is with you, and my soul and love 
is after you. The Lord keep us here in this dark day. 
Be wise, close, respectful to superiors. The king has 
discharged all Priends by a general pardon, and is court- 
eous to us, though as to the Church of England things 
seem pinching. Several Koman Catholics get much into 
places in the army, nav}^, and court." ''My 'Persuasive' 
works much among all sorts, and is divers spoken of. I 
have been thrice taken at meetings, but got off, blessed be 
the Lord." 

By letters written subsequently, to the before-mentioned 
Thomas Lloyd, and to James Harrison, his agent for the 
estate and manor of Pennsbury, it appears that he had 
serious cause to be grieved on other accounts. He writes, 
*' Being come home, I found thine from Philadelphia of 
the 3d of Eighth month past, by which I am both 
gladdened and troubled. 

" Glad that three such honest Friends, whom I love in 
my heart, are in that station of service, as your being the 
provincial judges. I know also that you are men of a 
good understanding, and friends to me and my honest 
interest, but I could have wished you easier and better 
work. * * * 



824 pj^ssages from the life 

*' Next I am sorry at heart that my letters to the council 
are so slightly regarded. * * * 

" I have with a religious mind consecrated my pains in 
a prudent frame [of government], but I see it is not 
valued, understood, or kept to, so that the charter is over 
and over again forfeited if I would take advantage of it. 
.Nay, I hear my name is really not mentioned in public 
acts of state, nor the king's, which is of dangerous con- 
sequence to the persons and things they have transacted, 
since they have no power but what is derived from me, as 
mine is from the king." 

He also complained that they had entirely neglected the 
supply which they had promised him. On this latter 
subject he descended to particulars. He stated ''that his 
quit-rents were then at least of the value of five hundred 
pounds a year, and then due, though he could not get a 
penny. I am above six thousand pounds out of pocket 
more than ever I saw by the province ; and you may 
throw in my pains, cares, and hazard of life, and leaving 
of my family and friends to serve them." 

From the same letters it.may be collected, that he began 
to be embarrassed for want of remittances from America, 
so that, though it was his intention to have returned there 
in the autumn of the present year, he was prevented in 
some measure from so doing on this account. He declared 
that the neglect of the supply, which the council had 
promised him in consequence of his great expense on 
account of the province, was one cause which kept him 
from Pennsylvania, adding, " that he would not spend his 
private estate to discharge a public station." " There is 
nothing my soul breathes more for in this world, next my 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 325 

dear family's life, than that I may see poor Pennsylvania 
again, but I cannot force my way hence, and see nothing 
done on that side inviting." 

To remedy these and other matters, it appears that, after 
having taken into consideration the conduct of the council, 
he resolved, though they had forfeited their charter, to let 
them remain as such ; but he would no longer allow them 
to have also the executive power in their hands. One 
reason of their tardiness and negligence he conceived 
might be their number, great bodies being more unwieldy 
and moving with less celerity than smaller. He determined, 
therefore, to reduce the executive to five persons, and made 
out a fresh commission accordingly. The following are 
the opening and closing clauses of the commission : 



WILLIAM PENN, 
PROPRIETOR AND GOVERNOR. 

" To my trusty and icell-beloved Friends, Thomas Lloydy 
Nicholas Moore, James Claypoole, Robert Turner, and 
John Eccles, or any three of them, in Philadelphia. 

" Trusty and well beloved ! I heartily salute you. Lest 
any should scruple the termination of President Lloyd's 
commission with his place in the provincial council, and 
to the end that there may be a more constant residence 
of the honorary and governing part of the government, 
for the keeping all things in good order, I have sent a 
fresh commission of deputation to you, making any three 
of you a quorum to act in the execution of the laws, en- 
acting, disannulling, or varying of laws, as if I mys^'^f were 
28 



826 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

there present; reserving to myself the confirmation of 
what is done, and my peculiar royalties and advantagei?. 

''Be most just, as in the sight of the all-seeing, all- 
searching God ; and, before 3^ou let your spirits into an 
all'air, retire to Him, (who is not far away from any of 
you, and by whom kings reign and princes decree justice), 
that He may give you a good understanding and govern- 
ment of yourselves in the management thereof; which is 
that which truly crowns public actions, and dignifies those 
that perform them. The ship is ready to sail ; so I shall 
only admonish you in general, that, next to the preserva- 
tion of virtue, you have a tender regard to peace and 
my privileges, in which enact from time to time. Love, 
forgive, help, and serve one another ; and let the people 
learn by your example, as well as by your power, the 
happy life of concord. So, commending you to God's 
grace and keeping, I bid you heartily farewell. 

" Given at Worminghurst, in old England, the 1st of 
the Twelfth month, 168G." 

Some time after he wrote : 

" To my trusty and well-beloved friends, Thomas Lloyd, 
Rohert Turner, James Claypole, John Simcock, and 
John Eccles, Philadelphia. 

" I salute you all with unfeigned love ; and in Christ 
Jesus, wish you health and happiness. My last is by the 
same hand, this being sent to the Downs after him, upon 
the receipt of Thomas Lloyd's and William Markham's 
letters. I am heartily sorry that I had no letter from the 
government ; indeed, I have hardly had one at all ; and 
[as] for private letters, though from public persons, I 



OF WILLIAM PENN". 327 

regard them but little ; I mean, as to taking of my public 
measures by; for I find such contradiction as well as 
diversity, that I believe I may say, I am one of the un- 
bappiest proprietaries with one of the best people. 

'* I shall henceforth expect letters from the government 
recounting the affairs of it, that they may be authorita- 
tive to me ; and as many private ones of love and friend- 
ship as you please besido, for that I also rejoice in ; and 
any particular advices that may inform me, as to the 
public, or remedy what may be amiss, or ameliorate 
what is in itself well, will also be very acceptable to me. 

'' Now I have said this, I cannot but condole the loss of 
some standards in the province — honest men, and of good 
understandings in their kind. The Lord avert his judg- 
ments, and constrain all by his visitations, to amend, be 
it in conversation, or be it in peace, concord, and charity. 
They that live near to God will live far from themselves ; 
and from the sense they have of his nearness and majesty, 
have a low opinion of themselves ; and out of that low 
and humble frame of spirit it is that true charity grows, 
the most excellent way. Ah ! what shall I say ? There 
can be no union, no comfortable society without it ! Oh, 
that the people of my province and parts annexed, felt 
this gracious quality abounding in them. My work would 
soon be done, and their praise and my joy unspeakably 
abound to us. . "Wherefore, in the name and fear of God, 
•let all old scores be forgotten as well as forgiven. Shut 
out the remembrance of them, and preach this doctrine to 
the people in my name, yea, in the king's name, and his 
that is greater and above all, namely, God Almighty's 
name. 



328 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

''I have only to recommend to you the due execution 
of the divers good laws among you impartially and dili- 
gently ; not neglecting the orders from hence sent, espe- 
cially for peace and concord. Government is not to make, 
but to do, and despatch bq^iness ; in v^hich few words, and 
a quiet but brisk execution does best. I write to you about 
my quit-rents ; I am forced to pay bills here, for the sup- 
port of my family when there, while I have four or five 
hundred pounds per annum in quit-rents there. You may 
remember the vote of council to pay my charges in this 
expedition. I could draw a large bill upon the provincial 
council in that regard — I am sure I need it — but have for- 
borne ; though it is none of the endearingest considera- 
tions, that I have not had the present of a skin or pound 
of tobacco since I came over ; though they are like to 
have most advantage by it, and promised so much. 

*' Pray prevent people withdrawing from us what you 
can. They cannot mend themselves, and they that go 
will find it so in a while, for I believe God has blessed 
that poor place ; and the reason of my stay here, and the 
service I am, and have been, to the conscientious, shall be 
rewarded on my solitary province. Kemember me to the 
people ; and let them know my heart's desires towards 
them, and shall embrace the first opportunity to make my 
abode wilh them." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. . 329 



XVII. 

SOON" after the proclamation of pardon already noticed, 
King James checked the rapacity of the informers 
about London and Middlesex by signifying his pleasure 
to the justices that they should withhold their encourage- 
ment from that unprincipled crew. Still, Friends were 
persecuted as popish recusants, particularly by the act of 
23 Elizabeth, for twenty pounds a month, on account of 
absence from the national worship. Application being 
made to the king, he was pleased to grant a nolle prose- 
qui, and gave orders to the attorney-general that no writs 
should be issued out of the exchequer against Friends on 
these accounts. Thus the rum of great numbers of 
Friends was prevented, and their estates saved to the 
amount of many thousand pounds ; a result which the 
labors and influence of William Penn were no doubt in- 
strumental in producing. 

The relief thus afforded may perhaps be considered as 
fairly included in the royal prerogative ; but in the early 
part of 1G87, the king issued a declaration of general in- 
dulgence, or liberty of conscience, by his sovereign au- 
thority and absolute power, to his subjects of all religions ; 
ordering that thenceforth the execution of all penal laws 
concerning ecclesiastical affairs, for not coming to church, 
for not receiving the sacraments, or for any other non- 
28* 



330 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

conformity with the established religion, or for performing 
religious worship in other ways, should be suspended. 

This was certainly a stretch of the royal prerogative 
irreconcilable with the nature of a limited monarchy 
Yet as the boon, so far as liberty of conscience was re- 
garded, was nothing more than reason and justice required, 
the dissenters in general accepted it with gratitude. Ad- 
dresses of thanks to the king were therefore presented 
from numerous quarters. Among others, Friends of the 
city of London presented one, and deputed William Penn, 
in conjunction with some others, to present it. 

In his speech to the king, he said : 

" I would not that any should think we come hither 
with design to fill the gazette with our thanks ; but as our 
sufferings would have moved stones to compassion, so we 
should be harder if we were not moved to gratitude." 

The address of the Yearly Meeting having been read, 
the king replied : 

" Gentlemen : — I thank you heartily for your address. 
Some of you know — I am sure you do, Mr. Penn— that it 
was always my principle that conscience ought not to be 
forced ; and that all men ought to have the liberty of their 
consciences. What I have promised in my declaration, I 
will continue to perform as long as I live. And I hope, 
before I die, to settle it so that after ages shall have n.o 
reason to alter it." 

It has been made a subject of censure that Friends and 
other dissenters should offer their acknowledgments to the 
king for a favor which was dispensed by the violation of a 
constitutional principle. A few observations will be suffi- 
cient to vindicate the Society of Friends. Their principles 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 331 

have always led them to live peaceably under the established 
governments, but to take no part in setting them up or 
pulling them down. They were not accustomed to scru- 
tinize very closely the extent of the powers exercised by 
men in authority. The limits of the royal prerogative 
were at that time very imperfectly defined. Indeed, Sir 
Edward Herbert, Chief-justice of the King's Bench, had 
declared a few months before that there was nothing 
wiiatever with which the king, as supreme law-giver, 
might not dispense ; and this decision was confirmed by 
eleven judges out of the twelve. It was not then to be 
expected that the exercise of this dispensing power would 
be disputed by those who were relieved by it from an op- 
pressive burden. The penal laws, inasmuch as they 
abridged the freedom of worship, were justly considered 
as an usurpation of the Divine prerogative ; the suspen- 
sion of those laws, by royal authority alone, might there- 
fore be viewed as counteracting usurpation. As the king 
had always professed himself a friend to liberty of con- 
science, and the measures of his government, so far as 
they were then developed, were not incompatible with 
such profession, Friends were at liberty to attribute his 
proclamation to justifiable motives. And they intimated 
in their address the necessity of a concurrent action by 
the Parliament, to render the measure permanent. 

In the summer of 1681 William Penn again travelled, 
in the work of the Gospel, through various parts of Eng- 
land, and in the course of the journey held several meet- 
ings for worship at Bristol, where Friends had been so 
violently persecuted. These meetings were remarkably 
crowded, the people flocking to them in great numbers ; 



332 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

showing that their zeal was rather increased than dimin- 
ished by the recent persecutions. At Chew, about five or 
six miles from Bristol, he had a meeting in- the open air. 
there being no building to be had sufficiently capacious to 
accommodate the multitude that attended. " A. large and 
heavenly meeting it was," says J. Whiting, ''many 
Friends and others of the country round about being 
there ; and the more, that it was the first time, as I re- 
member, that William Penn was ever in our county." 

Among the places he visited in Cheshire was Chester 
itself. The king being then on a journey, and arriving 
there at the time, aittended the meeting, as he did at two 
or three other places where he happened to be when the 
meetings were held. Visiting Oxford in the course of his 
journey, he there met with the king again. James was 
then attempting to introduce into the presidentship of 
Magdalen College, Parker, a man of dissolute morals, and 
strongly suspected of popish principles. The members of 
the college, considering the interference of the king as 
an encroachment upon their rights, had elected a presi- 
dent whose character was more congenial to their princi- 
ples. This brought on a contest between the king and the 
members of the college, in which the latter applied to Wil- 
liam Penn for his interposition with the king. He had 
the courage and magnanimity to express, as modestly as 
the nature of the case would admit, yet in terms sufficiently 
explicit, his disapprobation of the measures the king Avas 
pursuing; and though he had endeavored to procure a 
repeal of the test act as well as the penal laws, he proved 
himself no friend to popish ascendency. His remonstrance, 
however, did not arrest the proceedings of James, by 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 333 

whose orders the fellows of the college were displaced, 
and Parker forcibly installed in the presidency. 

In the same year, probably after his return from the 
journey just mentioned, he again took up his pen in the 
cause of liberty of conscience. 

The freedom from persecution which Friends and other 
dissenters enjoyed, being founded upon the dispensing 
power of the king, was evidently held by a precarious 
tenure, as the proclamation might be revoked, as that of 
Charles II. had been. William Penn, therefore, with a 
view of promoting the good work of placing the religious 
liberties of the people upon a solid and permanent basis, 
produced a tract, entitled, " Good Advice to the Church 
of England, Roman Catholics, and Protestant Dissenters. 
In which it is endeavored to be made appear that it is 
their duty, principle, and interest to abolish the penal 
laws and tests. Beati Pacifici.''^ 

This tract was published without the author's name, as the 
" Persuasive to Moderation " had been, probably from an 
apprehension that the unjust odium under which he labored 
might prejudice the public against any production which 
was known to be his. It is classed in his printed works 
among his political tracts, but is decidedly of a religious 
rather than a political character, for the subject is argued 
on Christian principles. 

He urges that it is the duty of the three classes to 
whom the work is addressed, to promote the abolition of 
the penal laws and tests, because they all profess the Chris- 
tian religion, and Christianity requires us to believe that 
faith is the gift of God; that He only is Lord of conscience, 
and is able to enlighten, persuade, and establish it. Con- 



334 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

sequcntly, to injure men in their persons or property, or 
to exclude them from stations of trust on account of their 
religion, is contrary to the tenderness and equity of Chris- 
tianity. This is confirmed by the consideration that the 
Christian religion is founded in love. Its origin, progress, 
and consummation were all in love. Our Lord's rebuke 
to his disciples, who wished to call down fire from heaven 
to consume those who rejected Him, is applicable to all 
times and places. Christ commanded that the tares should 
be permitted to grow with the wheat until the harvest ; so 
that He was in favor of a toleration, and his mandates are 
not to be modified by reasons of state. When the disci- 
ples related the circumstance of having found one casting 
out devils in their Master's name, whom they forbade, 
because he followed not with them, their decision was 
reversed by the Saviour himself, the great wisdom of God 
to his people, from whom there is no appeal. 

Throughout this essay we perceive a constant effort to 
lead the people of that day in the path which their relig- 
ious duty as well as civil interest pointed out, and to allay 
the jealousies which the conflict of parties had excited. 

He says, in his concluding section : " Shall I speak within 
our own knowledge, and that without offence ? There 
have been ruined since the late king's restoration above 
fifteen thousand families, and more than five thousand 
persons died under bonds, for matters of mere conscience 
to God. But who hath laid it to heart ? " 

In letters to James Harrison, written this year, he says : 
"A blessed general meeting we had, the Lord good 
among us, many of thy old friends at it. As yet I can- 
not get clear, for besides that I am not in my private 



OF WILLIAM PENN. .335 

affairs fit to move for a stay, as that I intend when I 
come there. I am engaged in the public business of the 
nation, and Friends and others in authority would have 
me see the establishment of the liberty, that I was a small 
instrument to begin in this land. The Lord has given 
me great entrance and interest with the king, though not 
so much as 't is said, and I confess I should rejoice to see 
poor England fixt, the penal laws repealed that are now 
suspended, and if it goes well with England it cannot go 
ill with Pennsylvania. Perhaps thou -^ilt hear more 
from some passengers ; but this I say, no temporal honor 
or profit can tempt me to decline poor Pennsylvania, as 
unkindly used as I am, and no poor slave in Turkey 
desires more earnestly, I believe, for deliverance, than I 
do to be with you ; wherefore be contented awhile, and 
God in his time will bring us to^'ether. 

''8th of Seventh month, '87. I am straitened, beins: 
just come home from the king's progress through Berk- 
shire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Chesh- 
ire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, 
and so home. I had two meetings on a First day at Ches- 
ter, in the Tennis court, where were about a thousand 
people, while the king was there." 

In the spring of 1688 the king renewed his declaration 
for liberty of conscience, with this addition, that he would 
adhere firmly to it, and that he would put none into public 
employments but such as would concur with him in main- 
taining it. He also promised that he would hold a Par- 
liament in the November following. This was what 
William Penn desired. He wished the king to continue 
firm to his purpose ; but he knew that neither tests nor 



330 PASSAGES FROM Til 10 LIFE 

penalties could be legally removed without the consent of 
Parliament. 

At the time when this declaration was renewed, an order 
of council came out that it should be read in the churches 
within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the kingdom. San- 
croft, Archbishop of Canterbury, and six other bishops, 
presented a petition to the king in behalf of themselves 
and several other bishops, and a great body of the clergy, 
in which they laid before him the reasons why they had 
opposed the reading of the declaration in the churches, as 
the order in council had prescribed. They intended, they 
said, no disrespect to his majesty, nor did they breathe 
any spirit of hostility towards the dissenters; but the 
declaration being founded on a dispensing power, which 
had been declared illegal no less than three times in eight 
years, they could not become parties to it by giving it the 
extraordinary publicity required. The king having heard 
the jK'tition, of w^hich this w\as the substance, took time to 
deliberate upon it, after which the seven bisho})s were sent 
to the Tower. In process of time they were brought to trial, 
and lliey were accpiitted among the plaudits of the nation. 

AVilliiun l^'Mn was not only against this commitment, 
but the day the Prince of Wales was born he went to the 
king and j)ressed him exceedingl}^ to set them at liberty; 
but after this event he became more unpoi)ular than ever. 
It had transpired, probably by means of Burnet, that he 
had ])cen employed by the king on the embassy to the 
Hague to obtain the Prince of Orange's consent not only 
to a toleration, but to the removal of tests. It had been 
siispected that he was the mover of the royal proclamation 
in 1G8G and of the declaration in 1G8T. It had become 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 337 

known that he was the author of " Good Advice to the 
Church of England, Koman Catholics, and Protestant 
Dissenters." It was, therefore, now taken for granted 
that he had a hand in the imprisonment of the bishops, 
though he had never any concern, on any occasion, in the 
recommendation of force. The consequence was that he 
became very odious to the church. The dissenters, too, 
whose very cause he had been pleading, turned against 
him. Considering his intimacy with James the Second, 
they judged him to have the like projects and pursuits. 
Now it happened that the king had made this year a more 
open acknowledgment of popery than ever. He had per- 
mitted the Jesuits to erect a college in the' Savoy in 
London, and suffered the friars to go publicly in the dress 
of their monastical orders, which was a strange sight to 
Protestants. He had permitted also the pope's Nuncio 
d'Ada to make his public entry into Windsor in great 
state. He was, therefore, most openly a Catholic. Hence 
they considered William Penn to be of the same religious 
persuasion. But they carried the matter still further; for, 
believing that the king, when he wished to establish a 
toleration and to abolish tests, had no other motive than 
that of protecting the Roman Catholic religion, and thus 
giving it an opportunity to flourish, they attached to Wil- 
liam Penn the same motive in his furtherance and defence 
of the measure. The clamor, indeed, was so great against 
him, being spread both by dissenters and the church, that 
several, who had not the courage to go against the spirit 
of the times, avoided his acquaintance. Others, who were 
of a firmer texture, and who valued him from what they 
knew of his worth and character, did not follow the stream. 
29 W 



333 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Among those, William Popple, Secretary t«) the Board of 
Trade and Plan rations, an intimate friend both of Dr. 
Tillotson and John Locke, wi-ote to him : 

"To the Honorable William reuu, Esq., Pf^opricfor ajid 
Gover}wr of Fcnnsylvania. 

''Honored Sir: — Though the friendship with which 
you are pleased to honor me doth afford me sufficient 
opportunities of discoursing with you upon any subject, 
yet I choose rather at this time to offer unto you in writing 
some reflections which haye occurred to my thoughts in a 
matter of no common importance. 

" You are not ignorant that the part you haye been 
supposed to haye ha,d of late years in public afiairs, though 
without either the title, or honor, or profit of any public 
office, and that especially your avowed endeavors to intro- 
duce among us a general inviolable liberty of conscience 
in matters of mere religion, have occasioned the mistakes 
of some men, provoked the malice of others, and, in the 
end, have raised against you a multitude of enemies, who 
have unworthily defamed you with such imputations as, 
I am sure, you abhor. This I know you have been suf- 
ficiently informed of, though I doubt you have not made 
sufficient reflection upon it. The consciousness of your 
own innocence seems to me to have given you too great a 
contempt of such unjust and ill-grounded slanders ; for, 
however glorious it is, and reasonable for a truly virtuous 
mind, whose inward peace is founded upon that rock of 
innocence, to despise the empty noise of popular reproach, 
yet even that sublimity of spirit may sometimes swell to 
a reprovable excess. 



OF WILLIAM PEXX. 339 

" The source of all arises from the ordinary access you 
have unto the king, the credit you are supposed to have 
with him, and the deep jealousy that some people have 
conceived of his intentions in reference to religion. Their 
jealousy is that his aim has been to settle popery in this 
nation, not only in a fair and secure liberty, but even in a 
predominating superiority over all other professions; and 
from hence the inference follows that whosoever has any 
part in the councils of this reign must needs be popishly 
affected ; but that to have so great a part in them as you 
are said to have had, can happen to none but an absolute 
Papist. That is the direct charge ; but that is not enough ; 
your post is too considerable for a Papist of an ordinary, 
form, and therefore you must be a Jesuit ; nay, to confirm 
that suggestion it must be accompanied with all the cir- 
cumstances that may best give it an air of probability ; as, 
that you have been bred at St. Omer's, in the Jesuit's 
college ; that you have taken orders at Rome, and there 
obtained a dispensation to marry ; and that you have since 
then frequently officiated as a priest in the celebration of 
the Mass at Whitehall, St. James's, and other places. And 
this being admitted, nothing can be too black to be cast 
upon you. Whatsoever is thought amiss, either in church 
or state, though never so contrary to your advice, is boldly 
attributed to it. 

" It is not a trifling matter for a person raised as you 
are, above the common level, to lie under the prejudice 
of so general a mistake in so important a matter. The 
general and long prevalency of any opinion gives it a 
strength, especially among the vulgar, that is not easily 
shaken. The design of so universal a liberty of conscieniic 



8-10 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

as your principles have led you to promote has offended 
many of those whose interest it is to cross it. I need not 
tell you how many and how powerful they are, nor can I 
tell you, either, how far or by what ways and means they 
may endeavor to execute their revenge. But this, how- 
ever, I must needs tell you, that in your present circum- 
stances there is sufficient ground for so much jealousy at 
least, as ought to excite you to use the precaution of some 
public vindication. This the tenderness of friendship 
prompts your friends to desire of you, and this the just 
sense of your honor, which true religion does not extin- 
guish, requires you to execute. 

" But what do I say, or what do I wish for ? I confess 
that I am now struck with astonishment at that abundant 
evidence which I know you have constantly given of the 
opposition of your principles to those of the Komish 
church, and at the little regard there has been had to it. 

'' I could not but be much affected that any man who 
had deservedly acquired so fair a reputation as you have 
formerly had — whose integrity and veracity had always 
been reputed spotless, and whose charity had been con- 
tinually exercised in serving others, at the dear expense 
of his time, his strength, and his estate, without any other 
recompense than what results from the consciousness of 
doing good — I say I could not but be much affected to see 
any such person fall innocently and undeservedly under 
such unjust reproaches as you have done. 

" Since therefore it is so, and that something remains yet 
to be done — something more express and especially more 
public than has yet been done — for your vindication, 1 
beg of you, dear sir by all the tender efficacy that friend' 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 34:1 

sLip, either mine or that of your friends and relations 
together, can have upon you, bj the due regard which 
humanity, and even CIn'istianity, obliges you to have to 
your reputation, by the duty you owe unto the king, by 
your love to the land of your nativity, and by the cause 
of universal religion and eternal truth, let not the scandal 
of insincerity that I have hinted at lie any long-er upon 
you ; but let the sense of all these obligations persuade 
you to gratify your friends and relations and to serve 
your king, your country, and your religion, by such a 
public vindication of your honor as your own prudence 
upon these suggestions will now show you to be most 
necessary and most expedient. 

''I am, with unfeigned and most respectful affection, 
honored sir, your most humble and most obedient servant, 

William Popple." 

William Penn was at Teddington, near London, when 
this letter reached him. It was dated the 20th of October, 
and on the 24th he answered it. 

''Worthy Friend: — It is now above twenty years, I 
thank God, that I have not been very solicitous what the 
world thought of me ; for since I have had the knowledge 
of religion from a principle in myself, the first and main 
point with me has been to approve myself in the sight of 
God through patience and T^ell-doing, so that the world 
has not had weight enough with me to suffer its good 
opinion to raise me or its ill opinion to deject me. And 
if that had been the only rac tive or consideration, and not 
the desire of a good friend in the name of many others, 
29* 



342 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

I had been as silent to thy letter as I use to be to the idle 
and malicious shams of the times ; but as the laws of 
friendship are sacred with those that value that relation, 
so I confess this to be a principal one with me, not to 
deny a friend the satisfaction he desires, when it may be 
done without offence to a good conscience. 

" The business chiefly insisted upon is my popery, and 
endeavors to promote it. I do say then, and that with 
all sincerity, that I am not only no Jesuit, but no Papist, 
and, which is more, I never had any temptation upon me 
to be it, either from doubts in my own mind about the 
way I profess, or from the discourses or writings of any 
of that religion. And in the presence of Almighty God 
1 do declare that the king did never once, directly or indi- 
rectly, attack me or tempt me upon that subject the many 
years that I have had the advantage of a free access to 
him — so unjust, as well as sordidly false, are all those 
stories of the town ! 

" The only reason that I can apprehend they have to 
repute me a Roman Catholic is my frequent going to 
Whitehall, a place no more forbid to me than to the rest 
of the world, who yet, it seems, find much fairer quarter. 
I have almost continually had one business or other there 
for our friends, whom I ever served with a steady solic- 
itation through all times since I was of their communion. 
I had also a great many personal good offices to do, upon 
a principle of charity, for people of all persuasions, think- 
ing it a duty to improve the little interest I had for the 
good of those that needed it, especially the poor. I might 
add something of my own affairs too, though I must own 
(if I may without vanity) that they have ever had the 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 34:3 

least share of my thoughts or pains, or else they would 
not have still depended as they yet do. 

'' But because some people are so unjust as to render 
instances for my popery (or rather hypocrisy, for so it 
would be in me), 'tis fit I contradict them as particularly 
as they accuse me. I say then solemnly, that I am so far 
from having been bred at St. Omer's and having received 
orders at Rome that I never was at either place, nor do I 
know anybody there, nor had I ever a correspondence with 
anybody in those places, which is another story invented 
against me. And as for my officiating in the king's chapel, 
or any other, it is so ridiculous, as well as untrue, that, 
besides that nobody can do it but a priest, and that I have 
been married to a woman of some condition above sixteen 
years (which no priest can be by any dispensation what- 
ever), I have not so much as looked into any chapel of the 
Roman religion, and consequently not the king's, though 
a common curiosity warn^nts it daily to people of all per- 
suasions. 

^'And, once for all, I do say that I am a Protestant dis- 
senter, and to that degree such that I challenge the most 
celebrated Protestant of the English church, or any other 
on that head, be he layman or clergyman, in public or in 
private. For I would have such people know 'tis not 
impossible for a true Protestant dissenter to be dutiful, 
thankful, and serviceable to the king, though he be of the 
Roman Catholic communion. We hold not our property 
or protection from him by our persuasion, and therefore 
his persuasion should not be the measure of our allegiance. 
I am sorry to see so many that seem fond of the reformed 
religion, by their disaffection to him recommend it so ill. 



844 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

Whatever practices of Koman Catholics we mig-ht reason- 
ably object against (and no doubt but such there are), yet 
he has disclaimed and reprehended those ill things by his 
declared opinion against persecution, by the ease in which 
he actually indulges all dissenters, and by the confirma- 
tion he offers in Parliament for the security of the Prot- 
estant religion and liberty of conscience. And in his 
honor, as well as in my own defence, I am obliged in 
conscience to say that he has ever declared to me it was 
his opinion, and on all occasions when duke he never re- 
fused me the repeated proofs of it, as often as I had any 
poor sufferers for conscience' sake to solicit his help for. 

" But some may be apt to say, ' Why not anybody else 
as well as I ? Why must I have the preferable access to 
other dissenters, if not a Papist ? ' I answer, I know not 
that is so. But this I know, that I have made it my 
province and business ; I have followed and prest it ; I 
took it for my calling and statiqn, and have kept it above 
these sixteen years ; and, which is more (if I may say it 
without vanity or reproach), wholly at my own charges 
too. To this let me add the relation my father had to 
this king's service, his particular favor in getting me re- 
leased out of the Tower of London in lfJC9, my father's 
humble request to him upon his death-bed to protect me 
from the inconveniences and troubles my persuasion might 
expose me to, and his friendly promise to do it, and exact 
performance of it from the moment I addressed myself to 
him ; I >ay, when all this is considered, anybody that has 
ihe least pretence to good-nature, gratitude, or generosity, 
must needs know how to interpret my access to the king. 
Perhaps some will be ready to say, ' This is not all, nor 



OF WILLIAM pe:nn. 845 

is this yet a fault ; but that I have been an adviser in 
other matters disgustful to the kingdom, and which tend 
to the overthrow of the Protestant religion and the 
liberties of the people.' A likely thing, indeed, that a 
Protestant dissenter, who from fifteen years old has been 
(at times) a sufferer in his father's family, in the Univer- 
sity, and by the government for being so, should design 
the destruction of the Protestant religion! This is just 
as probable as it is true that I died a Jesuit six years ago 
in America. ^ Will men still suffer such stuff to pass upon 
them ? Is anything more foolish, as well as false, than 
that because I am often at Whitehall, therefore I must 
be the author of all that is done there that does not please 
abroad ? But, supposing some such things to have been 
done, pray tell me, if I am bound to oppose anything that 
I am not called to do ? I never was a member of council, 
cabinet, or committee, where the affairs of the kingdom 
are transacted. I have had no ofQce, or trust, and conse- 
quently nothing can be said to be done by me ; nor, for 
that reason, could I lie under any test or obligation to 
discover my opinion of public acts of state ; and, there- 
fore, neither can any such acts, or my silence about them, 
in justice be made my crime. Yolunteers are blanks and 
ciphers in all governments. And unless calling at White- 
hall once a day, upon many occasions, or my not being 
turned out of nothing (for that no of&ce is), be the evidence 
of my compliance in disagreeable things, I know not what 
else can, with any truth, be alleged against me. However, 
one thing I know, that I have everywhere most religiously 
observed, and endeavored in conversation with persons 
of all ranks and opinions, to allay heats and moderate 



816 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

extremes, even in the politics. It is below me to be 
more particular ; but I am sure it bas been my endeavor, 
that if we could not all meet upon a religious bottom, at 
least we might upon a civil one, the good of England, 
which is the common interest of king and people ; that he 
might be great by justice, and we free by obedience; dis- 
tinguishing rightly, on the one hand, between duty and 
slavery, and, on the other, between liberty and licentious- 
ness. 

" But, alas, I am not without my apprehc;ision of the 
cause of this behavior towards me, and in this I perceive 
we agree ; I mean my constant zeal for an impartial liberty 
of conscience. But if that be it, the cause is too good to 
be in pain about. I ever understood that to be the natural 
right of all men ; and that he that had a religion without 
it, his religion was none of his own. For what is not the 
religion of a man's choice is the religion of him that im- 
poses it ; so that liberty of conscience is the first step to 
have a religion. This is no new opinion with me. I 
have writ many apologies within the last tw^enty years to 
defend it, and that impartially. Yet I have as constantly 
declared that bounds ought to be set to this freedom, and 
that morality was the best ; and that as often as that was 
violated, under a pretence of conscience, it was fit the 
civil power should take place. Nor did I ever think of 
promoting any sort of liberty of conscience for anybody 
which did not preserve the common Protestancy of the 
kingdom and the ancient rights of the government ; for, 
to say truth, the one cannot be maintained without the 
other. 

" Upon the whole matter, I must say, I love England, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 347 

1 over did so ; and that I am not in her debt. I never 
valued time, money, or kindred, to serve her and do her 
good. No party could ever bias me to her prejudice, nor 
any personal interest oblig-e me in her wrong; for I 
always abhorred discounting private favors at the public 
cost. 

''Would I have made my market of the fears and 
jealousies of the people, when this king came to the 
crown, I had put twenty thousand pounds into my pocket, 
and an hundred thousand into my province ; for mighty 
numbers of people were then upon the wing; but I 
waived it all ; hoped for better times ; expected the effects 
of the king's word for liberty of conscience, and happi- 
ness by it ; and till I saw my Friends, with the kingdom, 
delivered from the legal bondage which penal laws for 
religion had subjected them to, I could with no satisfac- 
tion think of leaving England, though much to my preju 
dice beyond sea, and at my great expense here, having in 
all this time never had either office or pension, and always 
refusing the rewards or gratuities of those I have been 
able to oblige. 

'' If, therefore, an universal charity, if the asserting an im- 
partial liberty of conscience, if doing to others as we would 
be done by, and an open avowing and steady practising of 
these things, in all times and to all parties, will justly lay 
a man under the reflection of being a Jesuit, or Papist of 
any raak, I must not only submit to the character, but 
embrace it too; and I care not who knows, that I can 
w-ear it with more pleasure than it is possible for them 
with any justice to give it me. For these are corner- 
stones and principles with me ; and I am scandalized at 



3^8 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

all buildings which have them not for their foundations. 
For religion itself is an empty name without them, a 
whited wall, a painted sepulchre, no life or virtue to the 
soul, no good or example to one's neighbor. Let us not 
flatter ourselves ; we can never be the better for our re- 
ligion, if our neighbor be the worse for it. Our fault is, 
we are apt to be mighty hot upon speculative errors, and 
break all bounds in our resentments ; but we let practical 
ones pass without remark, if not w^ithout repentance ; as 
if a mistake about an obscure proposition of faith were a 
greater evil than the breach of an undoubted precept. 
Such a religion the devils themselves are not without ; 
for they have both faith and knowledge ; but their faith 
doth not work by love, nor their knowledge by obedience. 
And if this be their judgment, can it be our blessing ? 
Let us not then think religion a litigious thing, nor that 
Christ came only to make us good disputants, but that 
He came also to make us good livers ; sincerity goes 
further than capacity. It is charity that deservedly ex- 
cels in the Christian religion ; and happy would it be if, 
where unity ends, charity did begin, instead of envy and 
railing, that almost ever follow. It appears to me to be 
the way that God has found out and appointed to moder- 
ate our differences, and make them at least harmless to 
society ; and, therefore, I confess I dare not aggravate 
them to wrath and blood. Our disagreement lies in our 
apprehension or belief of things ; and if the common 
enemy of mankind had not the governing of our affec- 
tions and passions, that disagreement would not prove 
such a canker, as it is, to love and peace in civil societies. 
" He that suffers his difference with his neighbor about 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 349 

the other world to carry him beyond the line of modera- 
tion in this, is the worse for his opinion, even though it 
be true. 

" What sort of Christians must they be, I pray, that 
can hate in his name who bids us love, and kill for his 
sake, that forbids killing and commands love, even to 
enemies ? 

'* Though people say to God, Thy will be done, they do 
their own ; which shows them to be true heathens, under 
a mask of Christianity, that believe without works, and 
repent without forsaking; busy for forms and the tem- 
poral benefits of them ; while true religion, which is to 
visit the fatherless and the widow, and to keep ourselves 
unspotted from the world, goes barefoot, and, like Laza- 
rus, is despised. Yet this was the definition the Holy 
Ghost gave of religion before synods and councils had 
the meddling with it and modelling of it. 

''In no age or time was there more need to set men at 
work in their own hearts than this we live in, when so 
busy, wandering, licentious a spirit prevails ; for, what- 
ever some men may think, the disease of this kingdom is 
sin, impiety against God, and want of charity to men. 
And while this guilt is at our door, judgment cannot be 
far off. 

"■Now this being the disease, I will briefly offer two 
things for the cure of it. 

" The first is David's clean heart and right spirit, which 
he asked and had of God: without this we must be a 
chaos still ; for the distemper is within, and our Lord said, 
all evil comes from thence. Set the inward man right, and 
the outward man cannot be wrong ; that is the helm that 
30 



360 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE ' 

governs the human vessel ; and this nothing can do but 
an inward principle, the light and grace that came by 
Christ, which, the Scriptures tell us, enlightens every 
one, and hath appeared to all men. He that gave us an 
outward luminary for our bodies, hath given us an inward 
one for our minds to act by. We have it, and it is our 
condemnation that we do not love it, and bring our deeds 
to it. 'T is by this we see our sins, are made sensible of 
them, sorry for them, and finally forsake them. And he 
that thinks to go to heaven a nearer way, will, I fear, be- 
late his soul, and be irrevocably mistaken. There are but 
goats and sheep at last, whatever shapes we wear here. 
Let us not therefore, dear friend, deceive ourselves. Our 
souls are at stake ; God will not be mocked ; what we sow 
we must expect to reap. To sum up this divinity of mine, 
it is the light of Jesus in our souls that gives us a true sight 
of ourselves, and that sight that leads us to repentance ; 
which repentance begets humility, and humility that true 
charity that covers a multitude of faults, which I call God's 
expedient against man's infirmity. 

" The second remedy to our present distemper is this : 
Since all of all parties profess to believe in God, Christ, 
the Spirit, and Scripture ; that the soul is immortal ; that 
there are eternal rewards and punishments ; and that the 
virtuous shall receive the one, and the wicked suffer the 
other ; I say, since this is the common faith of Christen- 
dom, let us all resolve in the strength of God to live up 
to what we agree in, before we fall out so miserably about 
the rest in which we differ. I am persuaded the change and 
comfort which that pious course would bring us to, would 
go very far to dispose our natures to compound easily for 



'OF WILLIAM PENN. 851 

all the rest, and we might hope yet to see happy clays in 
poor England, for there I would have so good a work be- 
gun. And how it is possible for the eminent men of every 
religious persuasion (especially the present ministers of 
the parishes of England) to think of giving an account 
to God at the last day, without using the utmost of their 
endeavors to moderate the members of their respective 
communions towards those that differ from them, is a 
mystery to me. But this I know, and must lay it at their 
doors ; I charge also my own soul with it ; God requires 
moderation and humility from us ; for He is at hand who 
will not spare to judge our impatience, if we have no pa- 
tience for one another. The eternal God rebuke (I be- 
seech Him) the wrath of man, and humble all under the 
sense of the evil of this day; and yet (unworthy as we 
are) give us peace for his holy name's sake. 

"It is now time to end this letter, and I will now do 
it without saying any more than this: Thou seest my 
defence against popular calumny ; thou seest what my 
thoughts are of our condition, and the way to better 
it ; and thou seest my hearty and humble prayer to Al- 
mighty God to incline us to be wise, if it were but for our 
own sakes. I shall only add that I am extremely sensible of 
the kindness and justice intended me by my friends on this 
occasion, and that I am for that and many more reasons, 
'' Thy obliged and affectionate Friend, 

William Penn." 

In about a fortnight after the writing of this letter, the 
nation being in a ferment on account of the arbitrary pro- 
ceedings of James II., William Prince of Orange landed 



852 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

at Torbay. He was received there with open arms as 
well as afterwards by the country at large. Officers and 
men, abandoning their former banners, deserted to serve 
under him. The national discontent indeed was such that 
James found it necessary to leave the kingdom and to re- 
tire to France. In process of time, as is well known, the 
Prince of Orange and his consort were advanced to the 
sovereignty of the realm. 

"William Penn lost, by the flight of the king, one who, 
with all his political failings, had been his firm friend. 
He was left exposed to the popular indignation as a Papist 
and Jesuit, and .as one who had aimed to establish 
popery and arbitrary power in the kingdom. To return 
to America, though she presented to him a peaceful asy- 
lum, would have led persons to conclude that he had been 
guilty of what had been laid to his charge. Conscious 
of his own innocence, he resolved to remain where he 
was, following those occupations by which he thought he 
could best promote the good of his fellow-creatures. 

But it was not long after this determination before he 
felt the effect of the political change which had taken 
place ; for on the 10th of Twelfth month, walking in White- 
hall, he was sent for by the Lords of the Council, who 
were then sitting. Here he underwent an examination. 
In reply to some questions which were put to him, he 
protested that " he had done nothing but what he could 
answer before God and all the princes in the world ; that 
he loved his country and the Protestant religion above his 
life, and had never acted against either ; that all he had 
ever aimed at in his public endeavors was no other than 
what the prince himself had declared for; that King 



OF WILLIAM pp:nn. 353 

James Iiad always been his friend and his father's friend ; 
and that in gratitude he himself was the king's, and did 
ever, as much as in him lay, influence him to his true 
interest." Notwithstanding this manly and open declara- 
non, and that nothing appeared against him, the council 
obliged him to give security for his appearance the first 
day of the next term. 

30* X 



o5J: PASSAGES FROM T PI E LIFE 



XVIII. 

WHILE William Penn was in England, the want 
of his presence in Pennsylvania was felt and la- 
mented by the inhabitants there. The burden of govern- 
ment had rested principally upon Thomas Lloyd, a valua- 
ble member and minister of the Society of Friends ; but as 
he was desirous of being released from the care and respon- 
sibility of his public station, William Penn reluctantly 
granted his request, and nominated Captain John Black- 
well as his deputy. In his letter to his friends in Penn- 
sylvania, he says: " For your ease, I have appointed one 
that is not a Friend, but a grave, sober, wise man, to be 
(jrovernor in my absence. He married old General Lam- 
bert's daughter, was treasurer to the Commonwealth's 
army in England, Scotland, and Ireland : I suppose inde- 
pendent in judgment. Let him see what he can do awhile. 
I have ordered him to confer in private with jon, and 
square himself by your advice. If he do not please you, 
he shall be laid aside. I desire you to receive him with 
kindness, and let him see it, and use his not being a Friend 
to Friends' advantage. He has a mighty repute of all 
sorts of honest people w^ere he has inhabited, which, 
with my knowledge, has made me venture upon him. I 
have rough people to deal with about my quit-rents, that 
yet cannot pay a ten-pound bill, but draw, draw, draw, 
still upon me. And it being his talent (Blackwell's) to 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 355 

regulate and set things in method, easy and lust, I have 
pitched upon him to advise therein." 

Among the instructions accompanying the commission 
sent to this officer are the following: ''That the widow, 
orphan, and absent may be particularly regarded in their 
rights, for their cry will be loudest in all ears ; but by 
absent, I mean such as are so of necessity. To have a 
special care that sheriffs and clerks of the peace impose 
not upon the people, and that the magistrates live peace- 
ably and soberly, for I could not endure one loose or liti- 
gious person in authority. Let them be men having some 
fear of God, and hating covetousness, whatever be their 
persuasion ; to employ others is to profane an ordinance 
of God. Rule the meek meekly, and those that will not 
be ruled, rule with authority, and God Almighty prosper 
all honest and prudent endeavors." 

The appointment of Deputy-Governor Blackw^ell did not 
answer the expectations of the Proprietary. He did not 
harmonize with the inhabitants there, and William Penn 
was induced in a short time to revoke his commission. 

While under bail for his appearance before the council, 
William Penn wrote to Friends in Pennsylvania : 

" My Dear Friends and Brethren: — If it be with you 
as I -can say it is with me, in the presence of God, then 
are we one in Him, for neither length of days, nor distance 
of place, nor all the many waters between us, can separate 
my heart and affection from you. . . . 

" Great revolutions have been of late in this land of 
your nativity, and where they may period the Jjord knows. 
It can be no new thing for us to meet with exercises. 



356 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Europe look^ like a sea of trouble — wars all over it like to 
be this summer. I strongl}' desire to see you before it be 
spent, if the Lord will ; and I can say in his sight, that to 
improve my interest with King* James for tender eon- 
sciences, and that a Christian liberty might be legally 
settled, though against my own interest, was that which 
separated me from you chiefl}^. I desire your remem- 
brance before the Lord; as you are not, and cannot be, 
forgotten in my addresses and approaches to Him, w^ho 
rest in his unchangeable love, dear friends and brethren, 
yours unalterably, in the communion of the blessed truth, 

William Penn. 
" The 2d of the Fii-st month, 1GS9." 

When William Penn's case was finally brought before 
court he was cleared, there being no charge against him. 

After the retirement of Governor Blackwell, Thomas 
Lloyd again consented to act as president of the council, 
the executive duties having now reverted to it. William 
Penn at this time wrote to them : 

" London, 12th of Sixth month, 1GS9. 

" Friends : — I heartily wish you all well, and beseech 
God to guide you in the ways of righteousness and peace. 
I have thought fit, upon my further stop in these part^, to 
throw all into your hands, that you may all see the confi- 
dence I have in you, and the desire I have to give you all 
possible contentment. I do earnestly press your constant 
attendance upon the government, and the diligent pursuit 
of p*eace and virtue ; and God Almighty strengthen your 
hands in so good a work. I also recommend to you the 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 857 

particular discipline of that town you meet in ; that so- 
briety and gravity be maintained, and authority kept in 
respect. As it comes in your way, countenance my offi- 
cers in collecting my small revenue. Whatever you do, I 
desire, beseech, and charge' you all to avoid factions and 
parties, whisperings and reportings, and all animosities; 
that putting your common shoulders to the public work, 
you may have the reward of good men and patriots, and 
so I bid you farewell. 

William Penn." 

He afterwards wrote to the Provincial Council : 

"Hammersmith, the 30th of the Tenth month, 1689. 

"Dear Friends: — I cannot slip this opportunity, but 
send you the endeared salutations of my love, that, in the 
truth, gives me frequent occasion to remember you, and 
earnestly desire your preservation to God, as well as your 
comfort and prosperity in outward things. About which 
have a care, that they grow not too fast upon you, nor too 
many for you — I mean as to the care and concerns that 
attend them in the exercise of your spirits ; for it is a 
blessed state to enjoy and use of the world, in the domin- 
ion of his life and power, that has quickened us by his 
light and spirit a people to himself, for in this stands all our 
peace and blessedness, that God be eyed in the first place, 
that we set Him on our right hand, that we set Him con- 
tinually before our eyes, and that our eye be directed 
towards Him in all things, as the eye of a handmaid to 
her mistress, that we may be able to say in truth and 
righteousness, we have none' in heaven but Him, nor any 



358 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

on earth besides Him. This it is that keeps- God's people 
everywhere ; for hereby they put on Christ in all his. 
blessed teachings and leadings, and make no provision for 
the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof. Friends, these are 
deep words and deeper things. And now. Friends, I 
have a word more to you, and that is this : that faith, hope, 
and charity are the great helps and marks of true Chris- 
tians ; but above all charity is the love of God or divine love. 
It will preserve peace in the church, peace in the State, 
peace in families, aye, and peace in particular bosoms. God 
Almighty draw, I beseech Him, all your hearts into this 
heavenly love more and more, that the work of it may 
shine out to God's glory and your comfort. For matters 
here, as to myself, I am well and free ; and for the church 
of God liberty continues. But in the nations of Europe 
great wars and rumors of war, such as have not been, 
almost from the beginning ; suns are turned into dark- 
ness and moons into blood, for the notable day is at the 
door. It could [not] be borne from some of you when 
you went for America, that such a day would come ; but 
come and coming it is, for almost every eye sees it and 
tongue says it, and some thousands, alas ! have already 
felt it. Sanctify, therefore, the Lord in your hearts ; be 
satisfied in Him and in your lot, and walk worthy of his 
daily mercy and attendance upon you and care over you. 
And the Lord keep you to the end. 

" I am, in the truth that makes us near to God and one 
to another, your faithful friend and brother, 

William Penn." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 359 



XIX. 

WILLIAM PENN, though he saw no disposition 
either in the king or in the Parliament to amend the 
toleration act, so as to bring it nearer to his own wishes, 
had yet the pleasure to find that it had at least become 
so popular, except among some of the clergy, that it was 
likely to maintain its ground. He resolved, therefore, to 
embark for Pennsylvania in the course of the present year. 
He had been in the habit of writing to the Duke of 
Buckingham, who was then deceased. A friend of his 
had fallen in with some of his letters, and was then col- 
lecting them, with a view of preventing them from passing 
into improper hands ; for he supposed, probably, that they 
might contain political matter ; and as William Penn was 
then daily watched by the new government as a persoi 
suspected to be hostile to it, there might be expressions in 
them which might afford his enemies a handle for putting 
him to trouble. He wrote to this friend : 

'* Being informed by Jer. Grimshaw that some of my 
letters to the late Duke of Buckingham are in thy hands, 
and that thy wonted kindness to all of our communion hiid 
shown itself in my regard by collecting them apart, to pre- 
vent their falling under any improper notice, I thought 
myself obliged, both to return my acknowledgments for 
that friendlv caution, and to desire thee to let them follow 



860 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

him they were written to, who can be no more known to 
the living. Poor gentleman I I need not trust another 
hand than that which was unwilling any other should be 
trusted with them but my own. I know not what the 
circumstances of that time might draw from me ; but my 
only business with him ever was to make his superior 
quality and sense useful to this kingdom, that he might 
not die under the guilt of misspending the greatest talents 
that were among the nobility of any country. However, 
in the rubbish of those times, and the late extraordinary 
revolution, let them lie ; and let us all think of this only 
way to the peace and happiness we pretend to seek, namely, 
to give God his due out of us, and then we shall have our 
dues out of one another ; and without it, let us not wonder 
at the nimble turns of the world, nor reflect upon the mis- 
chiefs that attend them. Things do not change. Causes 
and effects are ever the same ; and they that seek to over- 
rule the eternal order, fight with the winds and overthrow 
themselves. But what is this to my subject? I close 
with the true sense of all thy tenderness to our poor folks, 
and regards to myself, beseeching God that more than the 
reward of him that gives a cup of cold water in the name 
of a disciple may be thy portion, when this very trifling 
world may be no more. 

"I am thy affectionate, true Friend, 

William Penn." 

Soon after the writing of this letter, and while he was 
turning his thoughts towards the things to be done pre- 
paratory to his voyage, he was arrested by a body of 
military, and brought again before the lords of the council 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 361 

The charge then against him was that he was holding a 
traitorous correspondence with the late king, who was 
then in France. Upon this, he desired to appeal to King 
William in person. His request was granted. The king 
and council appeared together. A letter was then pro- 
duced which had been written to him by James, and 
which had been intercepted by government on its way, in 
which he (James) " desired him (Penn) to come to his 
assistance, and to express to him the resentments of his 
favor and benevolence." The question first put to William 
Penn was why King James wrote to him ? He answered 
that it was impossible for him to prevent the king from 
writing to him if he (the king) chose it. He was then 
questioned as to what resentments these were which James 
seemed to desire of him. He answered, " he knew not ; 
but he supposed the king meant that he should endeavor 
his restoration. Though, however, he could not avoid the 
suspicion of such an attempt, he could avoid the guilt of 
it. He confessed he had loved King James, and, as he 
had loved him in his prosperity, he could not hate him in 
his adversity ; yes ; he loved him yet for the many favors 
he had conferred on him, though he could not join with 
him in what concerned the state of the kingdom. He 
owned again that he had been much oblis-ed to the kins:, 
and that he was willing to repay his kindness by any 
private service in his power ; but that he must observe 
inviolably and entirely that duty to the State which be- 
longed to all the subjects of it; and therefore that he 
had never had the wickedness even to think of endeavor- 
ing to restore him that crown which had faUon from his 
head ; so that nothing in that letter could in any wise fix 
31 



362 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

guilt upon him." This defence, which was at once manlj, 
open, and explicit, had its weight with the king, so that 
he felt himself inclined to dismiss him as an innocent 
person ; but some of the council interfering, he, to please 
them, ordered him to give bail to appear at the next Trin- 
iiy term. After this he was permitted to withdraw, and 
to go at large as before. 

At the time appointed he appeared in court ; but here, 
as before, no one coming forward as evidence against him, 
he was honorably discharged. 

Being once more at liberty he returned to his home, 
and his voyage occupied his attention again. At this time 
the country was in great consternation on account of an 
expected invasion by the French. The French fleet had 
already beaten the English in conjunction with the Dutch, 
and was then hovering off the coast. King William, too, 
was in Ireland. The queen therefore was obliged to exert 
herself in defence of the nation. This she did by calling 
out the militia and in other ways ; but in order to strike 
terror at this moment into the supposed conspirators with 
France, she published a proclamation for apprehending 
about twenty persons, mostly noblemen, and including 
William Penn. The proclamation was not out long be- 
fore he was again apprehended and sent to prison. He 
was obliged to lie there till the last day of Michaelmas 
term, when he was brought up before the King's Bench 
Court, Westminster, for trial. The result was equally 
honorable as in the former cases ; for, though evidence 
appeared, it failed to prove anything against him. 

Just at this time he attended at the death-bed of his 
loved and honored friend Georce Fox. It fell to his lot 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 353 

to communicate this event to his wife, who was then in 
Lancashire. His letter was very short. ''I am to be," 
says he, " the teller to thee of sorrowful tidings in some 
respect, which is this, that thy dear husband and my be- 
loved and dear friend finished his glorious testimony this 
night about half an hour after nine, being sensible to the 
last breath. Oh, he is gone, and has left us in the storm 
that is over our heads, surely in great mercy to him, but 
as an evidence to us of sorrows to come ! " In alluding 
to his powers as a minister of the Gospel he says, "A 
prince indeed is fallen in Israel to-day ; " and to his irre- 
proachable life, " He died as he lived, a lamb, minding the 
things of God and his church to the last, in an universal 
spirit." After this, when the time came, he attended his 
remains to the grave. Here he spoke publicly, and for a 
considerable time, to about two thousand persons who at- 
tended the funeral. 

A day or two before the funeral of George Fox, an in- 
famous character of the name of Fuller, one whom Par- 
liament afterwards declared a cheat and an impostor, had 
come forward with an accusation against him upon oath, 
so that messengers had been sent to the very funeral itself 
with a warrant to apprehend him ; but, mistaking the hour, 
they arrived too late for their purpose. Unable now to 
leave the kingdom with honor, the vessels proceeded with- 
out him to Pennsylvania. 

William Penn had hitherto defended himself before the 
king and council, and established his innocence to general 
satisfaction. * But the prosecution which now awaited him 
seems to have assumed a more threatening aspect than any 
preceding one. His biographers have not given a very 



364 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

clear account of the specific charge which was preferred 
against him. It appears to have been a participation with 
others in a conspiracy for the restoration of James. This 
plot was principally charged upon the Roman Catholics, 
and William Penn was, in the idle rumors of the day, 
ranked with the adherents to the Popish faith. There 
was therefore reason to apprehend that the general odium 
resting upon the professors of that religion would be 
brought to bear upon this prosecution. The trials and 
executions upon the pretended disclosures of Gates and 
Bedloe must have been fresh in his memory. Under these 
circumstances William Penn judged it most prudent to 
remain for a time in retirement. He accordingly appeared 
but little in public for two or tlwee years. 

There seems no doubt that, as his private residence at 
London could have easily been known, the king and queen 
had no desire to bring him to trial, believing his inno- 
cence ; but that his name had been included in the war- 
rant by some of the king's advisers for the sake of the 
effect on the public mind. 

From the place of his seclusion he sent the following 
letter to the Yearly Meeting of Friends; 

"Third month 30th, 1691. 
" My Beloved, Dear, and Honored Brethren : — My 
unchangeable love salutes you, and though I am absent 
from you, I feel the sweet and lowly life of your heavenly 
fellowship, by which I am with you, and a partaker 
amongst you, whom I have loved above my chiefest joy. 
Receive no evil surmisings ; neither suffer hard thoughts, 
through the insinuations of any, to enter your minds 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 865 

against mc, your afflicted, but not forsaken, friend and 
brother. My enemies are yours, and, in the ground, mine 
for your sakes ; and that God seeth in secret, and will one 
day reward openly. My privacy is not because men have 
sworn truly, but falsely, against me ; ' for wicked men 
have laid in wait for me, and false witnesses have laid to 
my charge things that I knew not ; ' who have never sought 
myself, but the good of all, through great exercises ; and 
have done some good, and would have done more, and 
hurt no man ; but always desired that truth and righteous- 
ness, mercy,' and peace, might take place amongst us. 
Feel me near you, and lay me near you, my dear and 
beloved brethren, and leave me not, neither forsake, but 
wrestle with Him that is able to prevail against the cruel 
desires of some ; that we may yet meet in the congrega- 
tions of his people, as in days past, to our mutual comfort. 
The everlasting God of his chosen, in all generations, be 
in the midst of you, and crown your most solemn as- 
semblies with his blessed presence, that his tender, meek, 
lowly, and heavenly love and life, may flow among you, 
and that He would please to make it a seasoning and 
fruitful opportunity to you, desiring to be remembered of 
you before Him, in the nearest and freshest accesses, who 
cannot forget you* in the nearest relation. 

" Your faithful friend and brother, 

William Penn.'' 

Soon after he wrote to Thomas Lloyd, President of the 
Council in Pennsylvania. 
31* 



o66 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 

"London, 14tli of Fourth montli, IfiOl. 

" Dear Friend : — My love in the unchangeable truth 
Balutes thee and thine, and the friends and family of God, 
in those parts, desiring your temporal and everlasting wel- 
fare, with an unfeigned affection. 

'* By this time thou wilt have h(iard of the renewal of 
my troubles, the only let of my return, being in the midst 
of my preparations, w-ith a great company of adventurers, 
when they fell upon me. The jealousies of some, and un- 
worthy dealing of others, have made way for them ; but 
under and over it all the ancient rock has beeTi my shelter 
and comfort ; and I hope yet to see your faces, with our 
ancient satisfactions. The Lord grant, if it be for his 
glory, whose I desire to be, in all conditions ; for this 
world passeth away and the form and beauty of it fadeth ; 
but there are eternal habitations for the faithful ; amongst 
whom I pray that my lot may be, rather than amongst 
the princes of the earth. I hope I need not urge my 
circumstances to excite thy love, care, and concern for me 
and my suffering interest in the country. I know thou 
hast better learned Christ and Cato, if I may so say, and 
wilt embrace such an opportunity to choose to express 
thy friendship and sincerity. By all this God may pre- 
pare me to be fitter for future service even to you there. 
I ask the people forgiveness for my long stay ; but when 
I consider how much it has been my great loss, and for 
an ungrateful generation, it is punishment I It has been 
£20,000 to my damage in the country, and above £10,000 
here, and to the province five hundred families; but iIk? 
wise God that can do what He pleases, as well as see what 
is in man's heart, is able to recpiite all ; and I am persuaded 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 367 

all ^hall yet work together for god in this very thing, if 
W6 can overlook all that stands in the way of our views, 
Godward, in public matters. See that all be done prudently 
and humbly, and keep down irreverence and looseness, 
and cherish industry and sobriety. 

" Thou hast heard of our great loss of dear John Burn- 
yeat, and Robert Lodges, one in Ireland, and t'other in 
England, in about the same week ; and Robert Barclay, 
Th. Salthouse, and dearly beloved George Fox, since. He 
died at Henry Goulney's, by Gracious Street meeting- 
house, where he preached his farewell the First day, and 
departed the Third, at night, between nine and ten. I 
was with him ; he earnestly recommended to me his love 
to you all, and said, 'William, mind poor Friends in 
America.' He died triumphantly over death ; very easily 
foresaw his change. He was got into his inn, before the 
storm that is coming overtook him, and that night, very 
providentially, I escaped the messenger's hands. I shall 
add only, that Friends have had an extraordinary time 
this General Meeting, so that God supplied that visible 
loss with his glorious presence." 



3()S PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 



XX. 

WILLIAM PENN did not permit the time of his seclu- 
sion to pass unemployed, but produced several valu- 
able tracts. One of them is entitled 

*'A Key, opening the way to every capacity how to 

DISTINGUISH THE RELIGION PROFESSED BY THE PEOPLE 

CALLED Quakers from the perversions and misrep- 
resentations OF their adversaries." 

The following passages are taken from it. 

Reader : — Observing the prevailing power of prejudice, 
we have the less wondered at the hard treatment which 
we, as a people, have suffered from other persuasions. 
The credulous have been excited to look upon and treat 
us as heretics, seducers, blasphemers, and what not, while, 
blessed be God, our aim and bent have been the very power 
and work of religion upon our souls, that we might be 
God's workmanship, through Christ Jesus his blessed Son 
and heavenly agent; taking this to be the very life and soul 
of true religion, the effect and fruit of the Divine nature, 
which makes us Christians indeed here and fits us for glory 
hereafter. It will be the business of this little key to 
open a way to so clear and plain an understanding of our 
true principles, distinguished from our enemies' perver- 
sions, that we hope, with God's blessing, all impartial 



OF WILLIAM PR NX. 30)0 

inquirers will be satisfied of our holy and Cbristian pro- 
fession. 

Fej^version. The Quakers hold that the natural light in 
the conscience of every man ^*n the world is sufficient to 
save all that follow it, and so ihey overthrow salvation by 
Christ. 

A mighty error indeed, if it were true. 

Principle. But it is at best a great mistake. For their 
belief and assertion is, that Christ, who is the Word that 
was with God, and was God, and is so forever, hath en-. 
lightened every man that cometh into the world with his 
own light. And that such as follow the reproofs, con- 
victions, and leadings of that light, with which He en- 
lightens the understandings and consciences of men, shall 
not walk in darkness, that is, in evil and ignorance of 
God, but shall have the light of life, that is, be in a holy 
and living state or condition towards God — a state of 
acceptance and salvation, which is fi'om sin here as well 
as from wrath hereafter, for which end Christ was given 
of God. So that they assert the light of Christ to be 
sufficient to save, that is, to convince of sin, lead out of it, 
and quicken the soul in the ways of holiness, and not to be 
a natural light ; but as all men born into the world have a 
measure of Christ's light, so it may, in a sense, be said to 
be natural to all men, because all men who come into the 
world have it. This light is something else than the bare 
understanding man hath as a rational creature ; since, as 
such, man cannot be a light to himself, but has only a 
capacity of seeing by means of the li,i;-ht with which 
Christ, the Word, enlighteneth him. But as the sun in 
the firmament is the light of our bodies, so the light of the 

Y 



370 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Divine Word is the sun of our souls — the glorious lumi- 
nary of the intellectual world ; and they that walk in it 
will by it be led to blessedness. 

Perversion. The Quakers hold that the light within them 
is God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit ; so that every Quaker 
has whole God, Christ, and Holy Spirit in him, which is 
gross blasphemy. 

Principle. This is also a mistake of their belief. They 
never said that every Divine illumination, or manifesta- 
tion of Christ in the hearts of men, was whole God, 
Christ, or the Spirit, which might render them guilty of 
that gross and blasphemous absurdity some would fasten 
upon them. But that God, who is light, or the Word 
Christ, who is light, styled the second Adam, the Lord 
from heaven, and the quickening Spirit, who is God over 
all, blessed forever, hath enlightened mankind with a 
measure of saving light ; who said, I am the Light of 
the world ; and they that follow me shall not abide in 
darkness, but have the light of life. So that the illumi- 
nation is from God, or Christ the Divine Word; but not, 
therefore, that whole God or Christ is in every man, any 
more than the whole sun or air is in every house or cham- 
ber. 

Yet in a sense the Scriptures say it, and that is their 
sense, in which only they say the same thing. I will 
walk in them and dwell in them. He that dwelleth with 
you shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless, 1 
will come to you. I in them and they in me. Christ in 
us the hope of glory. Unless Christ be in you, ye are 
reprobates. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 371 

Per\:ersion. By the Quaker's doctrine every man must 
be saved, for every man, they say, is savingly enlightened. 
Princiijle. Not so either. For though the light or grace 
of God hath and doth, more or less, appear to all men, 
and brings salvation to as many as are taught by it to 
deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly 
and righteously and godly in this present world, as the 
Scripture teacheth, yet it no way follows that men must 
obey and learn so to do whether they will or not. God 
tenders saving light or grace to all, and by it calls all, 
and strives and pleads with all, according to the measure 
and manifestation of it ; but if they will not hearken to 
it, He is clear of their blood. 

Per version. By the Quakers' Light or Spirit' they may 
be moved to murder, treason, theft, or any such like wick- 
edness, because they say that such as are so led have the 
light within them. 

Principle. This never was their doctrine, nor is it con- 
sequent of it. For though they hold that all have light, 
they never said that all obeyed it, or that evil men, as 
such, or in such things, were led by it. For herein they 
know the Spirit of God and the motions of it from the 
spirit of this world and its fruits— that the Spirit of God 
condemns all ungodliness, and moves and inclines to 
purity, mercy, and righteousness, which are of God. 

They deny and abominate that loose and ranting mind 
which would charge the Spirit of God with their unholy 
liberty. • God's Spirit makes people free from sin, and not 
to commit sin. Man's sin and destruction are of 'himself ; 
but his help is in God alone, through Jesus Christ, our 
blessed sacrifice and sanctifier. 



372 PASSAGES F R O >r T IT E T. T F E 

Perversion. The Quakers must all be infallible and per- 
fect, if they have such an infallible light in them. 

Principle. No such matter. This is also a great abuse of 
their true meaning. They say the spirit of Truth is pure, 
perfect, unerrable in itself, or else it were very unfit to 
lead men out of error and impurity. But they never did 
assert themselves such, merel}'' because it was within them, 
by no means. But that all who are led by it, and live ac- 
cording to its manifestation, are so far perfect, and so far 
infallible in the right way as they are led by it, and not a 
jot farther. And let it be noted that though this Spirit 
be in man, yet it is not of man, but of God, through 
Jesus Christ. 

Perversion. The Quakers deny the Scriptures, for they 
deny them to be the Word of God. 

PiHnciple. They own and style the Scriptures as they 
own and style themselves, viz., a declaration of those things 
most truly believed, given forth in former ages by the 
inspiration of the Holy Spirit; consequently, that they 
are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be 
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. They 
are the form of sound words. We profess to believe them 
and read them, and say it is the work we have to do in 
this world, and the earnest desire of our souls to Almighty 
God that we may feel and witness the fulfilling of them in 
nnd upon ourselves; that so God's will maybe done in 
earth as it is in heaven. But to call them the Word of 
God, the ground of the charge, which they never call 
themselves, but by which they peculiarly denominate and 
call Christ, in reference to Christ and in no slight to them, 



OF WILLIAM PEXX. 373 

(wbich we believe to be of Divine authority, and embrace 
as the best of books, and allow to be as much the Word 
of God as a book can be,) they do, as in duty and reason 
bound, attribute that title to Christ only. 

And yet, as the word of God may, in some sense, sig- 
nify the command of God, referring- to the thing or matter 
commanded as the mind of God, it may be called the Word 
of the Lord, or Word of God ; as, on particular occasions, 
the prophets had the Word of the Lord to persons and 
places, that is to say, the mind or will of God, or that 
which was commanded them of the Lord to declare or do. 
So Christ uses it when He tells the Pharisees that they 
had made the word (or command) of God of none effect by 
their traditions. But because people are so apt to think 
if they have the Scriptures they have all (for that they 
account them the only word of God, and so look no far- 
ther, that is, to no other Word, from whence those good 
words came), therefore this people have been constrained, 
and, they believe, by God's good Spirit, once and again to 
point them to the great Word of words, Christ Jesus, in 
whom is life, and that life the light of men ; that they 
might feel something nearer to them than the Scriptures, 
to wit, the ¥/ord in the heart, from whence all Holy Scrip- 
ture came, which is Christ within them the hope of their 
■glory. And to be sure He is the only right expounder, 
as well as the author, of Holy Scripture, without whose 
light, spirit, or grace they cannot be savingly read by those 
that read them. 

God hath made use of the Scriptures, and daily doth 
and will make use of them, for instruction, reproof, com- 
fort, and edification, through the Spirit, to those that read 
32 



374 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

them as they ought to do. Thus they say they have felt 
them, and ::.o they have been and are made unto them, 
and wish heartily they were more in request -with the 
professors of Christianity. 

Perversion. The Quakers assert the Spiri\ of God to be 
the immediate teacher, and that there is no other means 
now to be used, as ministry, ordinances, etc. 

Frinciple. They never denied the use of means, but to 
this day, from the beginning, they have been in the prac- 
tice of them. But then they are such means as are used 
in the life and power of God. They cannot own that to 
be a Gospel ministry that is without a Gospel Spirit, or 
that such can be sent of God who are not taught of God, 
or that they are fit to^teach others what regeneration and 
the way to heaven are who have never been born again 
themselves ; or that such can bring souls to God who are 
themselves strangers (like those in the Acts xix. 21) to 
the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. 

This unexperienced and lifeless ministry is the only 
ministry, and such the only ministers that the people 
called Quakers cannot own and receive, and therefore can- 
not maintain. For the ministry and the ministers that 
are according to Scripture, they both own, respect, and 
delight in, and are ready to assist and support in their 
service for God. 

Perversion. The Quakers deny the Trinity. 

Principle. Nothing less : they believe in the holy three, or 
Trinity of Father, Word and Spirit, according to Scripture. 
And that these three are truly and properly one ; of one 
nature as well as will. But they are very tender of quit- 
ting Scripture terms and phrases for schoolmen's, such as 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 375 

distinct and separate persons and subsistences, etc., are ; 
from whence people are apt to entertain gross ideas and 
notions of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And they 
judge that a curious inquiry into those high and divine 
revelations, or into speculative subjects, though never so 
great truths in themselves, tend little to godliness and less 
to peace, which should be the chief aim of true Christians. 
Therefore they cannot gratify that curiosity in themselves 
or others. Speculative truths are, in their judgment, to 
be sparingly and tenderly declared, and never to be made 
Ihe measure and condition of Christian communion. For 
besides that Christ Jesus hath taught them other things, 
the sad consequence, in all times, of superfining upon 
Scripture texts, do sufficiently caution and forbid them. 

Percersion. The Quakers deny Christ to be God. 

Principle. A most untrue and unreasonable censure, for 
their great and characteristic principle being this, that 
Christ, as the Divine "Word, lighteth the souls of all men 
that come into the world, with a spiritual and saving 
light, according to John i. 9, viii. 12, which nothing but 
the Creator of souls can do, it sufficiently shows that they 
believe Him to be God, for they truly and expressly own 
Plira to be so, according to Scripture, viz. : *'In Him was 
Life, and that Life the light of men ; and He is God over 
all, blessed forever." 

Perversion. The Quakers deny the human nature of 
Christ. 

Principle. We never taught, said, or held so gross a 
tiling, if by human nature be understood the manhood of 
Christ Jesus. For as we believe Him to be God over all, 
blessed forever, so we do as truly believe Him to be of the 



S76 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

seed of Abraham and David after the flesh, and therefore 
truly and properly man, like us in all things, and once sub- 
ject to all things for our sakes, sin only excepted. 

Pei^version. The Quakers expect to be justified and 
saved by the Light within them, and not by the death 
and sufferings of Christ. 

Principle. This is both unfairly and untruly stated and 
charged upon us. But the various senses of the word 
justification, oblige me here to distinguish the use of it, 
for in the natural and proper sense it plainly implies mak- 
ing men just who were unjust, godly that were ungodly, 
upright that were depraved; as the apostle expresseth 
himself, 1 Cor. vi. 11, "And such were some of you, but 
ye are washed, but 3'e are sanctified, but ye are justified 
in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our 
God." Li the other use of the word, which some call a 
law-sense, it refers to Christ as a sacrifice and propitiation 
for sin, as in Rom, v. 9, '' Much more then, being now 
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath 
through Him ; " and 1 John ii. 1, 2, " If any man sin, we 
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the right- 
eous, and He is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for 
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 
Which, though a great truth and most firmly believed by 
us, yet no man can be entitled to the benefit thereof, but 
as he comes to believe and repent of the evil of his ways, 
and then it may be truly said that God justifieth even the 
ungodly, and looks upon them through Christ, as if they 
had never sinned, because their sins are forgiven them for 
bis beloved Son's sake. 

Not thai God looks on people to be in Christ, who are 



OF WILLIAM PEXJS-. 377 

tot in Christ, that is, who ore not in the faith, obedience 
and self-denial of Christ, nor sanctified, nor led by his 
Spirit, but rebel against it, and instead of dying to sin 
through a true and unfeigned repentance, live and indulge 
themselves daily in it; for they that are in Christ become 
new creatures, old things are passed away, and all thing&i 
with them become new. Wherefore, we say, that what- 
ever Christ then did, both living and dying, was of great 
benefit to the salvation of all who have believed, and now 
do, and who hereafter shall believe in Him unto justifica- 
tion and acceptance with God. But the way to come to 
that faith is to receive and obey the manifestation of his 
Divine light and grace in their consciences, which leads 
men to believe and value, and not to disown or under- 
value Christ, as the common sacrifice and mediator. For 
we do affirm, that to follow this holy Light in the con- 
science, and to turn our minds and bring all our deeds 
and thoughts to it, is the readiest, nay, the only right way 
to have true living and sanctifying faith in Christ as He 
appeared in the flesh, and to discern the Lord's body, 
coming, and sufferings aright, and to receive any real 
benefit by Him, as their only sacrifice and mediator. 
According to the beloved disciple's emphatical passages, 
" If we walk in the light, as (God) is in the light, we 
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus 
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." And because 
this people say, that Christ's outward coming and suffer- 
ings profit not to their salvation who live in sin and rebel 
against this Divine light, so^ne have untruly and unchar- 
itably concluded that they deny the virtue and benefit of 
Christ's coming and sufferings in the flesh as a sacrifice for 
32* 



378 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

sin. Whereas we only deny and oppose a false and dan. 
g-crons application of them in and to a disobedient state. 
For we believe Christ came not to save men in their sins, 
but from their sins ; and that those that open the door of 
their hearts at his inward and spiritual knocks (to wit, 
the reproofs and convictions of his light and grace), have 
their consciences sprinkled with his blood (that is, dis- 
charged from the guilt of them), from dead works, to serve 
the living God. And so far only as men come by faith, 
repentance, and amendment to be Christ's, Christ is theirs, 
and as He has an interest in their hearts, they have an 
interest in his love and salvation, that is, so far as they 
are obedient to his grace and take up his cross and follow 
Him in the ways of meekness, holiness, and self-denial ; so 
far they have an interest in Christ, and no farther. And 
here there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus, because such walk not after the flesh, but after the 
Spirit, for we have seen a shoal or sand here upon which 
we fear many thousands have split, and which we desire 
to avoid, and are earnest that others may beware of it 
also, viz., that because Christ died a sacrifice for the sins 
of the whole world, by which He put mankind into a 
capacity of salvation, and has given every one a talent 
of grace to work it out by, they presume upon that sacri- 
fice, and sin on, without a thorough repentance, reforma- 
tion, and conversion to God, not dying with Christ to the 
world, but living in it according to the lusts and spirit of 
it. Such as these may be assured that where Christ is 
gone they shall never come, for, says the blessed apostle, 
God sent his Son to bless us, by turning every one of us 
from the evil of our way. 



Of WILLIAM PENN. 379 

Perversion. Thus it is the Quakers set up works, and 
meriting by works, like the Papists, whereby justification 
by faith in Christ is laid aside. 

Principle. By no means. But they say with the Apostle 
James, ch. ii., that true faith in Christ cannot be without 
works, any more than a body can live without a spirit ; 
and that where there is life there is motion, and where 
there is no Divine life and motion, there can be no true 
faith, believing being a fruit of Divine life. The very be- 
lieving is an act of the mind, concurring with God's work- 
ing in or upon the mind, and therefore a godly work. 
And no sooner is true faith begotten in a soul, but it falls 
to working, which is both the nature and, in some respects, 
the end of it. 

Nor yet do we say that our very best works, proceed- 
ing from the true faith itself, can merit. No, nor faith 
joined with them, because eternal life is the gift of God. 
All that man is capable of believing or performing can 
never properly be said to merit evei'lasting blessedness, 
because there can be no proportion (as there must be in case 
of merit) between the best works that can be performed 
in the life of man and an eternal felicity. Wherefore, all 
that man can do, even with the assistance of the Holy 
Spirit, can never be said strictly to merit as a debt due to 
the creature. But on the other hand, that right faith, 
and good works which arise out of it or will follow it, 
may and do obtain the blessed immortality which it 
pleaseth Almighty God to give and to privilege the sons 
of men with, who perform that necessary condition, is a 
Gospel and necessary truth. And this the Quakers ground 
upon, and therefore boldlv affirm to the world. 



380 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

So that they deny all merit from the best of works, 
especially by such as some Papists may conceive to be 
meritorious. But as they ou the one hand deny the meri- 
toriousness of works, so on the other hand neither can they 
join with that lazy faith which works not out the salva- 
tion of the soul with fear and trembling. Blessed is he 
that hears Christ's words and does them. The doer is 
only accepted. Wherefore, it shall be said at the last 
day, not well professed, but well done good and faithful 
servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Thou holy, 
humble, patient, and meek liver, thou that lovedst me 
above all, and thy neighbor as thyself, enter thou. For 
thee, and such as thou art, was it prepared from the foun- 
dation of the world. Which recompense of his faithful- 
ness is the infinite love of God, revealed and given to 
man through Christ. For though death be the wages 
of sin, yet the gift of God is eternal life to such. So that 
as the people called Quakers do not hold that their good 
works merit, neither believe they that their good works 
justify them ; for though none are justified that are not 
in measure sanctified, yet all that man does is duty, and 
therefore cannot blot out old scores, for that is mere 
grace and favor, upon repentance, through Christ the sac- 
rifice,and mediator, our great scapegoat. So that men are 
not justified because they are sanctified, but for his sake 
that sanctifies them, and works all their good works in 
them and for them, and presents them blameless, to wit, 
Christ Jesus, who is made unto them, as He was to the 
saints of old, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and 
redemption, that he that glorieth might glory in the 
Lord. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 381 

Perveraion. The Quakers deny the two great sacraments 
or ordinances of the Gospel, baptism and the supper. 

Principle. Whatever is truly and properly a Gospel ordi- 
nance they desire to own and practise ; but they observe 
no such language in the Scripture as in the reflection. 
They do confess the practice of John's baptism and the 
supper is to be found there ; but practice only is no insti- 
tution, nor a sufficient reason of continuation. That they 
were then proper, they believe, it being a time of great 
infancy, and when the mysteries of truth lay yet couched 
and folded up in figures and shadows, as is acknowledged 
by Protestants. But it is their belief that no figures or 
signs are perpetual or of institution under the Gospel ad- 
ministration, when Christ, who is the substance of them, 
is come ; though their use might have been indulged to 
young converts in primitive times, because of the conde- 
scension of former practices. 

It were to overthrow the whole Gospel dispensation, 
and to make the coming of Christ of none efl^ect, to render 
signs and figures of the nature of the Gospel, which is 
inward and spiritual. If it be said, but they were used 
after the coming of Christ, and his ascension, too: they 
answer, so were many Jewish ceremonies, not easily abol- 
ished, as circumcision, etc. It is sufficient to them that 
water baptism was John's, and not Christ's, see Matt. iii. 
11, Acts i. 5; that Jesus never used it, John iv. 2 ; that 
it was no part of Paul's commission, which if it were 
evangelical and of duration, it certainly would have been, 
1 Cor. iv. 15, 16, IT ; that there is but one baptism, as 
well as one faith, and one Lord, Eph. v. 4 ; and that bip- 
tism ought to be of the same nature with the kingdom of 



382 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

which it is an ordinance, and that is spiritual. The same 
holds also as to the supper, both alluding to old Jewish 
practices, and used as a signification of a near and accom- 
plishing work, viz., the substance they represented. 

If any say, but Christ commanded that one of them 
should continue in remembrance of Him, which the apostle 
to the church of Corinth explains thus : that thereby they 
do show forth the Lord's death till He comes. We allege 
that He that said so, told his disciples also that He would 
come to them again ; that some should not taste death 
till they saw Him coming in the kingdom ; and that He 
that dwelleth with them should be in them ; and that He 
would drink no more of this fruit of the vine till He should 
drink it new with them in the kingdom of God, which 
is the new wine that was to be put into the new bottles, 
and is the wine of the kingdom, as He expresseth it in 
the same place ; which kingdom is within, as may be read 
in Luke. He was the heavenly bread that they had not 
yet known, nor his flesh and blood, as they were to know 
them, as may be seen, John vi. So that though Christ 
came to end all signs, yet till He was known to be the 
substance to the soul, as the great Bread of life from 
heaven, signs had their service with them, to show forth 
and hold in hand, and in remembrance of Christ; espe- 
cially to the people of that day, whose religion was at- 
tended with a multitude of the like types, shadows, and 
signs of the one good thing and substance of all, Christ 
manifested in his people. And that great Apostle Paul 
says expressly of the Jewish observations, that they were 
shadows of the good things to come, but the substance 
was of Christ. Hence it is, that the people called Quakers 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 383 

caimot be said to deny them. That is too hard a word ; 
but they, truly feeling in themselves the very thing which 
outward water, bread, and wine do signify or point forth 
(to say nothing here of their abuse, and what in that case 
may be argued, from the instance of Hezekiah's taking 
away the brazen serpent by God's command), they leave 
them off, as fulfilled in Christ, who is in them the hope of 
their glory, and henceforth they have but one Lord, one 
laith, one baptism, one bread, and one cup of blessings ; 
and that is the new wine of the kingdom of God, which 
is within. 

During his retirement he wrote a most excellent work, 
entitled '' Some Fruits of Solitude, in Reflections and 
Maxims relating to the Conduct of Human Life." 

In the preface, he speaks thus of his seclusion from the 
world. 

"Reader: — This enchiridion I present thee with is the 
fruit of solitude, a school few care to learn in, though none 
instructs us better. Some parts of it are the results of 
serious reflection, others the flashing of lucid intervals, 
written for private satisfaction, and now published for aii 
help to human conduct. 

"The author blesseth God for his retirement, and kisses 
that gentle hand which led him into it ; for, though it 
should prove barren to the world, it can never do so to him. 

" He has now had some time he could call his own, — a 
property he was never so much master of before, — in which 
he has taken a view of himself and the world, and observed 
wherein he has hit or missed the mark; what might have 



384 PASSAGES FROM TUE LIFE 

been done; what mended, and what avoided in human con- 
duct ; together with the omissions and excesses of others, 
as well societies and governments as private families and 
persons. And he verily thinks, were he to live over his 
life again, he could not only, with God's grace, serve Him, 
but his neighbor and himself, better than he hath done, 
and have seven years of his time to spare. And yet, per- 
haps, he hath not been the worst or the idlest man in the 
world, nor is he the oldest. And this is the rather said, 
that it might quicken thee, reader, to lose none of the time 
that is yet thine. 

" There is nothing of which we are apt to be so lavish 
as of time, and about which we ought to be more solici- 
tous, since, without it, we can do nothing in the world. 
Time is what we want most, but, what, alas! we use worst, 
and for which God will certainly most strictly reckon with 
us when time shall be no more I " 

During this retirement, it probably was, that he pro- 
duced a small work, bearing the appearance of a political 
character, but essentially a philanthropic and religious 
essay. 

The nations of Europe were, at that time, very gener- 
ally engaged in a sanguinary war. William Penn com- 
miserating the sufferings inevitably attendant on these 
extensive hostilities, made an effort to draw the attention 
of his cotemporaries to a more rational method of adjust- 
ing the controversies of nations. In pursuance of this 
design he wrote ''An Essay towards the Present and 
Future Peace of Europe, by the Establishment of an 
European Diet, Parliament, or Estates." In this he 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 3S5 

first lays clown the advantages of peace, and th( evils, the 
dangers, the expenses, and desolations ol war. He then 
explains the ostensible object of war to be the establish- 
ment of justice, but that a lawless ambition is a more 
common stimulant. That justice in a government pre- 
serves the internal peace of a country, but violence on the 
part of those in power seldom fails to excite discontent and 
insurrections among the people. Domestic peace is main- 
tained by justice, which is a fruit of government, as gov- 
ernment is from society, and "society from consent. 

He shows that the object of government is the preser- 
vation of peace among its members. That as by the re- 
straint which government imposes upon the passions of 
individuals, the prevention and redress of injuries are in- 
trusted to impartial hands, each individual receives the 
protection of society, and thereby gains more than he 
loses by giving up the privilege of being judge and exe- 
cutioner in his own cause. 
^ He suggests the expediency of applying the same prin- 
ciples to the disputes of nations which are applied to those 
of individuals; by forming a general congress among the 
princes of Europe, by which a code of laws for the regu- 
lation of their mutual intercourse should be established, 
and to which they should all be required to submit. 

He shows that the usual causes of war would be in great 

measure removed by the establishment of such a tribunal, 

without the necessity of exercising its compulsive power. 

A number of objections which may be offered to the plan 

are afterwards stated and answered. 

In the conclusion he shows that a plan, nearly analogous 
to his, had been actually adopted to a limited extent in some 
33 Z 



PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

provinces of the Netherlands ; and that Henry TV., one of 
the greatest monarchs who ever reigned in France, had it in 
contemplation to compel the princes to adopt one of a sim- 
ilar character, when he was suddenly cut off by the hand 
of an assassin. He adds, "this great king's example tells 
us it is fit to be done ; Sir William Temple's history shows 
us by a surpassing instance that it may be done ; and 
Europe, by her incomparable miseries, makes it now neces- 
sary to be done." 

AVilliam Penn had now been about three years, in great 
measure, secluded from the world and from the public ser- 
vice of society. It is probable that many who were ac- 
quainted with the rumors of the day gave credit to the 
charges against him. Yet there were a number of men, 
conspicuous for their talents and standing in the world, 
who had formed a more just estimate of his character. 
Among these was the celebrated John Locke, who had 
returned to England in the same fleet with the Princess 
of Orange. Finding in what manner William Penn was 
persecuted, he used his interest with the king to procure 
a pardon for his supposed offences. But William Penn 
had too much regard for his own character, and was too 
confident that his innocence would be eventually proved, 
tp accept of enlargement upon conditions which implied 
that he had been guilty of an offence. Several noble- 
men, conscious of his worth, and fully convinced that the 
charges against him were unfounded, interested them- 
selves in his favor. Three of them, Kanelagh, Rochester, 
and Sidney, went together and represented the hardship 
of his case to the king. They stated that there was noth- 
ing against him but what was advanced by impostors, or 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 387 

such as had fled their country ; or by men who, when 
pardoned for their crimes, had refused to verify their 
charges. They had themselves long known "William Penn, 
some of them not less than thirty years, and had never 
known him do an ill action, but many good ones ; and that 
it was because he was unwilling to incur the suspicion of 
leaving the country, in defiance of government, that he 
had continued in it. King William told them that Wil- 
liam Penn was his old acquaintance as well as theirs, and 
that he might follow his business as freely as ever, for he 
had nothing to say against him. It however appears 
probable that William Penn was desirous his innocence 
should be more openly acknowledged, for we find that he 
appeared before the king and council, where he so success- 
fully pleaded his cause as to obtain a full acquittal. 

Though the cloud which had so long hung over him 
was now dissipated, and his innocency clearly established, 
yet another heavy trial, and one that affected the tenderest 
sensibilities of his heart, was at hand. In about a month 
after his discharge his wife was removed by death. 

William Penn has himself left a tribute to the memory 
of this noble character in '' an account of the blessed end 
of my dear wife, Guliclma Maria Penn," which closes 
with these words : 

'' She quietly expired in my arms, her head upon my 
bosom, with a sensible and devout resignation of her soul 
to Almighty God. I hope I may say she was a public 
as well as private loss; for she was not only an excellent 
wife and mother, but an entire and constant friend, of a 
more than common capacity, and greater modesty and 
humility; yet most equal, and undaunted in danger; re- 



388 PASSAGES FEOM TflE LIFE 

ligious, as well as ingenuous, without affectation ; an easy 
mistress and good neighbor, especially to the poor ; nei- 
ther lavish nor penurious ; but an example of industry as 
well as of other v.rtues ; therefore, our great loss, though 
her own eternal gain." 

Soon after he wrote to Robert Turner : 

■ "HoDSOX, 27th of Twelfth month, 1G93. 
" Loving Friend : — My extreme great affliction for the 
decease of my dear wife, makes me unfit to write much, 
whom the great God took to himself from the troubles of 
this exercising world the 23d inst. In great peace and 
sweetness she departed, and to her gain, but our incom- 
parable loss, being one of ten thousand — wise, chaste, 
humble, plain, modest, industrious, constant, and un- 
daunted; but God is God, and good, and so I hope, tho' 
afflicted, not forsaken." 

As William Penn had been honorably acquitted of those 
charges which prevented his return to America, it might 
naturally be supposed that he would immediately prepare 
for a voyage thither. But the decease of his wife had left 
a charge upon him which he could not neglect. She left 
two sons and one dau^'hter, whose education demanded a 
father's care. His heavy expenditures in Penns3Tvania, 
the very small returns from that quarter, and the losses 
sustained in Ireland, in consequence of the commotions 
there, had subjected him to considerable pecuniary diffi- 
culty. Moreover, the events which had occurred in rela- 
tion to the government of Pennsylvania, as will be related 
hereafter, left a task to be accomplished at home. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 389 



XXI. 

IN the year 1694 William Penn wrote a prefate to the 
Journal of George Fox, who died, as already mentioned, 
in 1690. The preface is a treatise of itself, and has been 
frequently published separately from the work to which it 
was originally prefixed, under the title of '' The Rise and 
Progress of the People called Quakers." A consider- 
able part of it is subjoined. 

Divers have been the dispensations of Grod since the 
creation of the world unto the sons of men ; but the great 
end of all of them has been the renown of his own excel- 
lent name in the creation and restoration of man — man, 
the emblem of Himself, as a god on earth and the glory 
of all his works. The world began with innocency. All 
was then good that the good God had made ; and as He 
blessed the works of his hands, so their natures and har- 
mony magnified Him their Creator. Then the morning 
stars sang together for joy, and all parts of his works 
said Amen to his law ; not a jar in the whole frame ; but 
man in paradise, the beasts in the field, the fowls in the 
air, the fish in the sea, the lights in the heavens, the fruits 
of the earth; yea, the air, the*earth, the water and fire 
worshipped, praised, and exalted his power, wisdom, and 
goodness. .0 holy sabbath I holy day to the Lord I 
33* 



390 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

[After speaking of the fall of man, the successive dispen- 
sations of God, the apostasy from Christianity, and the 
progress of the reformation to his own time, he writes :] 

It was about that time that the eternal, wise, and good 
God was pleased, in his infinite love, to honor and visit 
this benighted and bewildered nation vfith his glorious 
dayspring from on high ; yea, with a most sure and cer- 
tain sound of the word of light and life, through the tes- 
timony of a chosen vessel, to an effectual and blessed pur- 
pose can many thousands say. Glory be to the name of 
the Lord forever ! 

For as it reached the conscience, and broke the heart, 
and brought many to a sense and search, so that which 
people had been vainly seeking without, with much pains 
and cost, they by this ministry found within, where it was 
they wanted what they sought for, viz., the right way to 
peace with God. For they were directed to the light of 
Jesus Christ within them, as the seed and leaven of the 
kingdom of God; near all because in all, and God's talent 
to all, a faithful and true witness and just monitor in every 
bosom, the gift and grace of God to life and salvation that 
appears to all, though few regard it. 

God owned his own work, and this testimony did effect- 
ually reach, gather, comfort, and establish the weary and 
heavy laden, the hungry and thirsty, the poor and needy, 
the mournful and sick of many maladies, that had spent 
all upon physicians of no value, and waited for relief from 
heaven, help only from above, seeing, upon a serious trial 
of all things, nothing else would do but Christ himself — 
tlie light of his countenance, a touch of his garment and 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 391 

help from his hand, who cured the poor woman's issue, 
raised the centurion's servant, the widow's son, the ruler's 
daughter, and Peter's mother. And like l-^v they no sooner 
felt his power and efficacy upon their souls, but they gave 
up to obey Him, in a testimony to his power, and with 
resigned wills and faithful hearts, through all mockings, 
contradictions, beatings, prisons, and many other jeopard- 
ies that attended them, for his blessed name's sake. 

• And as their testimony was to the principle of God in 
man, the precious pearl and leaven of the kingdom, as the 
only blessed means appointed of God to quicken, convince, 
and sanctify man, so they opened to them what it was in 
itself, and what it was given to them for, how they might 
know it from their own spirit, and that of the subtle ap- 
pearance of the evil one ; and w^iat it would do for all 
those whose minds are turned off from the vanity of the 
world and its lifeless ways and teachers, and adhere to 
this blessed light in themselves, which discovers and con- 
demns sin in all its appearances, and shows how to over- 
come it, if minded and obeyed in its holy manifestations 
and convictions ; giving power to such to avoid and resist 
those things that do not please God ; and to grow strong 
in love, faith, and good works, that so man, whom sin hath 
made as a wilderness overrun with briars and thorns, might 
become as the garden of God, cultivated by his divine 
power, and replenished with the most virtuous and beau- 
tiful plants of God's own right-hand planting, to his eter- 
nal praise. 

But these experimental preachers of glr.d tidings of 
God's truth and kingdom could not run when the}^ list, 
or pray or preach when they pleased, but as Christ their 



392 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

Redeem or prepared and moved them by his own blessed 
Spirit, for which they waited in their services and meet 
inji's, and spoke as that gave, them utterance. They were 
diligent to plant and to water, and the Lord blessed their 
labors with an exceeding great increase, notwithstandihg 
all the opposition made to their blessed progress by false 
rumors, calumnies, and bitter persecutions. 

Two things are to be considered, the doctrine they 
taught and the example they led among all people. J 
have already touched upon their fundamenta^l principle, 
which is as the corner-stone of their fabric ; and, indeed, 
to speak eminently and properly, their characteristic or 
main distinguishing point or principle, viz., the light of 
Christ within as God's gift for man's salvation. This, I 
say, is as the root of the goodly tree of doctrines that 
grew and branched out from it, which I shall now men- 
tion in their natural and experimental order. 

First, repentance from dead works to serve the living 
God, which comprehends three operations : first, a sight 
of sin ; secondly, a sense and godly sorrow for it; thirdly, 
an amendment for the time to come. This wns Hie repent- 
ance they preached and pressed, and a natural result from 
the principle they turned all people unto. For of light 
came sight, and of sight came sense and sorrow, and of 
sense and sorrow came amendment of life ; which doc- 
trine of repentance leads to justification, that is, forgive- 
ness of the sins that are past, through Christ the alone 
propitiation ; and to the sanctification or purgation of tho 
soul from the defiling nature and habits of sin present, by 
the Spirit of Christ in the soul, which is justification in 
the complete sense of that word, comprehending both jus- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 393 

tification from the guilt of the sins that are past (as if 
they had never been committed), through the love and 
mercy of God in Christ Jesus, and the creature's being 
made inwardly just through the cleansing and sanctifying 
ptTwer and Spirit of Christ revealed in the soul, which is 
commonly called sanctification. But that none can come 
to know Christ to be their sacrifice that reject Him as their 
sanctifier, the end of his coming being to save his people 
from the nature and defilement, as well as guilt of sin ; 
and that, therefore, those that resist his light and Spirit 
make his coming and offering of none effect to them. 

From hence sprang a second doctrine they were led to 
declare, as the mark of the prize of the high calling to all 
true Christians, viz., perfection from sin, according to the 
Scriptures of Truth ; which testify it to be the end of 
Christ's coming, and the nature of his kingdom, and for 
which his Spirit was and is given, viz., to be perfect as 
our heavenly Father is perfect, and holy, because God is 
holy. And this the apostles labored for, that the Chris- 
tians should be sanctified throughout in body, soul, and 
spirit; but they never held a perfection in wisdom and 
glory in this life, or from natural infirmities, or death, as 
some have, with a weak or ill mind, imagined and insinu- 
ated against them. 

This they called a redeemed state, regeneration, or the 
new birth ; teaching everywhere according to their foun- 
dation, that without this work were known, there was no 
inheriting the kingdom of God. 

Thirdly, this leads to an acknowledgment of eternal 
rewards and punishments, as they have good reason ; for 
else, of all people, certainly they must be the most miser- 



394 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

able, who, for above forty years, have been exceeding 
great sufferers for their profession. 

Besides these general doctrines, as the larger branches, 
there sprang forth several particular doctrines, that did 
exemplify and farther explain the truth and efficacy ol 
the general doctrine before observed, in their lives and 
examples ; as. Communion and loving one another. To 
love enemies. The sufficiency of truth-speaking, accord- 
ing to Christ's own form of sound words, of yea, yea, 
and nay, nay, among Christians, without swearing. Not 
fighting, but suffering, because all wars and fightings 
come of men's own hearts' lusts, and not of the meek 
Spirit of Christ Jesus. Refusing to pay tithes or main- 
tenance to a national ministry ; believing all compelled 
maintenance to be unlawful. Not to respect persons; 
affirming it to be sinful to give flattering titles, or to use 
vain gestures and compliments of respect. They used 
the plain language of thee and thou to a single person, 
whatever was his degree among men. They recommended 
silence by their example. They were at a word in deal- 
ing ; and, when in company, they would neither use, nor 
willingly hear unnecessary or unlawful discourses ; where- 
by they preserved their minds pure and undisturbed from 
unprofitable thoughts and diversions. For the same 
reason they forebore drinking to people, or pledging of 
them, as the manner of the world is. They say that 
marriage is an ordinance of God, and that God only can 
rightly join man and woman in marriage ; therefore they 
use neither priest nor magistrate ; but the man and wo- 
man concerned take each other as husband and wife, in 
the presence of divers credible witnesses, promising to 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 8P5 

each other, wilh God's assistance, to be loving and faith- 
ful in that relation, till death shall separate them ; their 
care and checks being so many, and such, as that no clan- 
destine marriages can be performed among them. Their 
burials are performed with simplicity ; the corpse being in 
a plain coffin ; at the ground, they pause some time before 
they put the body into its grave, that if any there should 
have anything upon them to exhort the people, they may 
not be disappointed, and that the relations may the more 
retiredly and solemnly take their last leave of the body 
of their departed kindred, and the spectators have a sense 
of mortality. Otherwise, they have no set rites or cere- 
monies on these occasions; neither do the kindred of the 
deceased ever wear mourning, deeming that what mourn- 
ing is fit for a Christian to have at the departure of a 
beloved relation or friend, should be worn in the mind, 
and the love they had to them and remembrance of them 
be outwardly expressed by a respect to their advice and 
care of those they have left behind them and their love of 
that they loved. 

These and such like practices of theirs were not the 
result of humor, but a fruit of inward sense, which God, 
through his holy fear, had begotten in them. They did 
not consider how to contradict the world, or distinguish 
themselves as a party from others. But God having 
given them a sight of themselves, they saw the whole 
world in the same glass of Truth, and sensibly discerned 
the affections and passions of men, and the rise and ten- 
dency of things; what it was that gratified the ''lust of 
the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, which 
are not of the Father, but of the world." 



396 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

They were changed men themselves before they went 
about to change others. Their hearts were rent as well 
as their garments ; and they knew the power and work 
of God upon them. 

They went not forth, or preached in their own time or 
will, but in the will of God ; and spoke not their own 
studied matter, but as they were opened and moved of 
his Spirit. And as they freely received what they had to 
say from the Lord, so they freely administered it to others. 

The bent and stress of their ministry was conversion to 
God ; regeneration and holiness. Not schemes of doc- 
trines and verbal creeds, or new forms of worship; but a 
leaving off, in religion, the superfluous, and reducing the 
ceremonious and formal part, and pressing earnestly the 
substantial, the necessary and profitable part to the soul. 

They directed people to a principle in themselves, though 
not of themselves, by which all that they asserted, preached, 
and exhorted others to, might be wrought in them, and 
known to them, through experience, to be true ; which is an 
high and distinguishing mark of the truth of their ministry, 
both that they knew what they said, and were not afraid 
of coming to the test. For as they were bold from certainty, 
so they required conformity upon no human authority, 
but upon conviction, and the conviction of this principle, 
which they asserted was in them that they preached unto ; 
and unto that they directed them, that they might ex- 
amine and prove the reality of those things which they 
had affirmed of it, as to its manifestation and work in man. 

They reached to the inward state and condition of 
people, which is an evidence of the \irtue of their prin- 
ciple, and of their ministering from it, and not from their 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 397 

own imaginations, glofises, or comments upon Scriptare. 
The very thoughts and purposes of the hearts of many- 
have been so plainly detected, that they have, like Nathan- 
iel, cried out of this inward appearance of Christ : " Thou 
art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel." 

They came forth low, and despised, and hated, as the 
primitive Christians did, and not by the help of worldly 
wisdom or power, as former reformations, in part, have 
done. But in all things it may be said, this people were 
brought forth in the cross; in a contradiction to the ways, 
worships, fashions, and customs of this world ; yea, 
against wind and tide, that so no flesh might glory before 
God. 

They could have no design to themselves in this work, 
thus to expose themselves to scorn and abuse ; to spend 
and be spent ; leaving wife and children, house and land, 
and all that can be accounted dear to men, wilh their lives 
in their hands, being daily in jeopardy, to declare this 
primitive- message, revived in their spirits by the good 
Spirit and power of God : That God is light, and in 
Him is no darkness at all ; and that He has sent his Son 
a light into the world, to enlighten all men in order to 
salvation ; and that they that say they have fellowship 
with God, and are his children and people, and yet walk 
in darkness (viz., in disobedience to the light in their 
consciences) and after the vanity of this world, they lie, 
and do not the truth. But that all such as love the light, 
and bring their deeds to it, and walk in the light, as God 
is light, the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, should cleanse 
them from all sin. 

This people increasing daily both in town and country, 
34 



398 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

an holy care fell upon some of the elders amon^a: them, for 
the benefit and service of the church. And the first busi- 
ness in their view, after the example of the primitive saints, 
was the exercise of charity ; to supply the necessities of 
the poor, and answer the like occasions. They were also 
very careful that every one that belonged to them an- 
swered their profession in their behavior among men, 
upon all occasions ; that they lived peaceably, and were 
in all things good examples. In case of marriage, they 
took care that all things were clear between the parties 
and all others. 

But because the charge of the poor, the number of or- 
phans, marriages, sufferings, and other matters multiplied, 
and that it was good that the churches were in some way 
and method of proceeding in such affairs among them, it 
pleased the Lord, in his wisdom and goodness, to open the 
understanding of the first instrument of this dispensation 
of life, about a good and orderly way of proceeding. 
This godly elder, in every country where he travelled, ex- 
horted them, that' some out of every meeting for worship 
should meet together once in the m.onth, to confer about 
the wants and occasions of the church. And that these 
Monthly Meetings should, in each county, make up one 
Quarterly Meeting, where the most zealous and eminent 
Friends of the county should assemble to communicate, 
advise, and help one another. Also that these several 
Quarterly Meetings should digest the reports of their 
Monthly Meetings, and prepare one for each respective 
county against the Yearly Meeting, in which all Quarterly 
Meetings resolve. 

At these meetings any of the members of the churches 



OF WILL [AM PEXX. 399 

may come, if they please, and speak their minds freely, 
in the fear of God, to any matter. These meetings are 
opened and usually concluded in their solemn waiting 
upon God, who is sometimes graciously pleased to answer 
them with as signal evidences of his love and presence as 
in any of their meetings of worship. 

In these solemn assemblies for the churches' service 
there is no one presides among them after the manner of 
the assemblies of other people, Christ only being their 
president, as He is pleased to appear in life and wisdom 
in any one or more of them, to whom, whatever be their 
capacity or degree, the rest adhere with a firm unity, not 
of authority, but conviction, which is the divine authority 
and way of Christ's power and Spirit in his people, mak- 
ing good his blessed promise that He would be in the midst 
of his where and whenever they were met together in his 
name, even to the end of the world. 

The power they exercise upon members of their society 
is such as Christ has given to his own people to the end 
of the world, in the persons of his disciples, viz., to over- 
see, exhort, reprove, and, after long suffering and waiting 
upon the disobedient and refractory, to disown them as any 
more of their communion, or that they will any longer 
stand charged in the sight and judgment of God or men 
with their conversation or behavior as any of them, until 
they repent. They distinguish between imposing any prac- 
tice that immediately regards faith or worship (which is 
never to be done, or suffered, or submitted unto) nnd re- 
quiring Christian compliance with those methods that only 
respect church business in its more civil part and concern, 
and that regard the discreet and orderly maintenance of 



400 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the character of the society as a sober and religions com- 
munity. In short, what is for the promotion of holiness 
and charity, that men may practise what they profess, live 
up to their own principles, and not be at liberty to give 
the lie to their own profession without rebuke, is their use 
and limit of church power. They compel none to join 
them, but oblige those that are of them to walk suitably, 
or they are denied by them ; that is all the mark they set 
upon them and the power they exercise, or judge a Chris- 
tian society can exercise, upon those that are members of it. 

This account of the people of God called Quakers, both 
with respect to their faith and worship, discipline and con- 
versation, I judge very proper in this place, because it is 
to preface the journal of the first blessed and glorious in- 
strument of this work. George Fox was born in Leices- 
tershire about the year 1624. From a child he appeared 
of another frame of mind than the rest of his brethren, 
being more religious, inward, still, solid, and observing 
beyond his years, as the answers he would give, and the 
questions he would put, upon occasion, manifested, to the 
astonishment of those that heard him, especially in divine 
things. 

His mother, taking notice of his singular temper and 
the gravity, wisdom, and piety that very early shined 
through him, refusing childish and vain sports and com- 
pany when very young, was tender and indulgent over 
him, so that from her he met with little difficulty. As to 
his employment, he was brought up in country business, 
and as he took most delight in sheep, so he was very skil- 
ful in them, an employment that very well suited his 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 401 

nnnd in several respects, both for its innocency and soli- 
tude, and was a just emblem of his after ministry and 
service. 

When he was somewhat above twenty he left his friends 
and visited the most retired and religious people in those 
parts. At this time he taught, and was an example of 
silence, endeavoring to bring them from self-performances ; 
testifying of, and turning them to, the light of Christ with- 
in them, and encouraging them to wait in patience, -and to 
feel the power of it to stir in their hearts, that their knowl- 
edge and worship of God might stand in the power of an 
endless life, which was to be found in the light, as it was 
obeyed in the manifestation of it in man. 

In 1652, he being in his usual retirement, his mind ex- 
ercised towards the Lord, upon a very high mountain (in 
some of the hither parts of Yorkshire, as I take it) he had 
a vision of the great work of God in the earth, and of the 
way that he was to go forth in a public ministry to begin 
it. He saw people as thick as motes in the sun that should 
in time be brought home to the Lord, that there might be 
but one shepherd and one sheepfold in all the earth. There 
his eye was directed northward, beholding a great people 
that should receive him and his message in those parts. 
Upon this mountain he was moved of the Lord to sound 
out his great and notable day, as if he had been in a great 
auditory, and from thence went north as the Lord had 
shown him. And in every place where he came, if not 
before he came to it, he had his particular exercise and 
service shown to him, so that the Lord was his leader 
indeed. For it was not in vain that he travelled, God in 
most places sealing his commission with the convincement 
34* 2 A 



402 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

of some of all sorts, as well publicans as sober professor? 
of relig'ion. Those that came forth in a public ministry 
were frequently drawn forth, especially to visit the public 
assemblies, to reprove, inform, and exhort them, some- 
times in markets, fairs, streets, and by the highway side, 
calling people to repentance and to turn to the Lord with 
their hearts as well as their mouths, directing them to the 
light of Christ within them, to see, examine, and consider 
their ways by, and to eschew the evil and do the good and 
acceptable will of God. And they suffered great hardships 
for this their love and good- w- ill, being often stocked, stoned, 
beaten, whipped, and imprisoned, though honest men and 
of good report w^here they lived, that had left wives, chil- 
dren, houses, and lands to visit them with a living call to 
repentance. And though the priests generally set them- 
selves to oppose them, and write against them, and insin- 
uated most false and scandalous stories to defame them, 
stirring up the magistrates to suppress them, especially in 
"those northern parts, jet God was pleased so to fill them 
with his living power, and give them such an open door 
of utterance in his service, that there was a mighty con- 
vincement over those parts. 

But lest this may be thought a digression, I return to 
this excellent man, and for his personal qualities, both 
natural, moral, and divine, as they appeared in his con- 
verse with the brethren, and in the church of God, take 
as follows : 

He was a man that God endued with a clear and won- 
derful depth ; a discerner of others' spirits and very much 
a master of his own. And though that side of his under- 
standing which lay next to the world, and especially the 



OF \V 1 1. L r A M P E N N . 403 

expression of it, might sound uncouth and unfashionable 
to nice ears, his matter was nevertheless very profound, 
and would not only bear to be often considered, but the 
more it was so the more weighty and instructing it ap- 
peared. And as abruptly and brokenly as sometimes his 
sentences would seem to fall from him about divine things, 
it is well known they were often as texts to many fairer 
declarations. And, indeed, it showed beyond all contra- 
diction that God sent him, in that no art or parts had any 
share in the matter or manner of his ministry ; and that 
so many great, excellent, and necessary truths as he came 
forth to preach to mankind had therefore nothing of man's 
wit or wisdom to recommend them. So that as to man 
he was an original, being no man's copy. And his min- 
istry and writings show they are from one that was not 
taught of man, nor had learned what he said by study. 
Nor were they notional or speculative, but sensible and 
practical truths, tending to conversion and regeneration 
and the setting up of the kingdom of God in the hearts 
of men. And the wa}^ of it was his work. So that I 
have many times been overcome in myself, and been made 
to say with my Lord and Master upon the like occasion, 
" I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that 
thou hast'hid these things from the wise and prudent of 
this world and revealed them to babes." For many times 
hath my soul bowed in an humble thankfulness to the Lord 
that He did not choose any of the wise and learned of this 
world to be the first messenger in our age of his blessed 
trulh to men ; but that He took one that was not of high 
degree, or elegant speech, or learned after the way of this 
world, that his message and work He sent him to do might 



4:04 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

come with less suspicion or jealousy of human Avisdom 
and interest, and with more force and clearness upon the 
consciences of- those that sincerely sought the way of 
truth in the love of it. I say, beholding with the eye 
of my mind, which the God of heaven had opened in me, 
the marks of God's finger and hand visibly in this testi- 
mony, from the clearness of the principle, the power and 
efiScacy of it, in the exemplary sobriety, plainness, zeal, 
steadiness, humility, gravity, punctuality, charity, and 
circumspect care in the government of church affairs which 
shined in his and their life and testimony that God em- 
ployed in this work, it greatly confirmed me that it was 
of God, and engaged my soul in a deep love, fear, rever- 
ence, and thankfulness for his love and mercy therein to 
mankind ; in which mind I remain, and shall, I hope, 
through the Lord's strength, to the end of my days. 

In his testimony or ministry he much labored to open 
Truth to the people's understandings, aid to bottom them 
upon the principle and principal, Christ Jesus, the light 
of the world, that by bringing them to something that 
was from God in themselves, they might the better know 
and judge of Him and themselves. 

. He had an extraordinary gift in opening the Scriptures. 
He would go to the marrow of things, and show the mind, 
harmony, and fulfilling of them with much plainness, and 
to great comfort and edification. 

The mystery of the first and second Adam, of the fall 
and restoration, of the law and gospel, of shadows and 
substance, of the servant's and son's state, and the fulfill- 
ing of the Scriptures in Christ, and by Christ, the true 
light, in all that are his through the obedience of faith, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 405 

were much of the substance and drift of his testimonies. 
In all which he was witnessed to be of God, being sensibly 
felt to speak that which he had received of Christ, and was 
bis own experience in that which never errs nor fails. 

But above all he excelled in prayer. The inwardness 
and weight of his spirit, the reverence and solemnity of 
his address and behavior, and the fewness and fulness of 
his words, have often struck even strangers with admira- 
tion, as they used to reach others with consolation. The 
most awful, living, reverent frame I ever felt or beheld, 
I must say, was his in prayer. And truly it was a testi- 
mony he knew" and lived nearer to the Lord than other 
men ; for they that know him most, will see most reason 
to approach him with reverence and fear. 

He was of an innocent life, no busybody, nor self-seeker ; 
neither touchy nor critical. What fell from him was very 
inoffensive, if not very edifying. So meek, contented, 
modest, easy, steady, tender, it was a pleasure to be in 
his company. He exercised no authority but over evil, 
and that everywhere, and in all ; but with love, com- 
passion, and long suffering. A most merciful man, as 
ready to forgive as unapt to take or give an offence. 
Thousands can truly say he was of an excellent spirit and 
savor among them ; and because thereof, the most ex- 
cellent spirits loved him with an unfeigned and unfading 
love. 

He was an incessant laborer ; as he was unwearied, so 
he was undaunted in his services for God and his people. 
He was no more to be moved to fear than to wrath. 

This man of God had his share of suffering from some 
that were convinced by him, who, through prejudice or 



406 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

mistalve, ran against him, as one that sought dominion 
over conscience, because he pressed, by his presence or 
epistles, a ready and zealous compliance with such good and 
wholesome things as tended to an orderly conversation 
about the affairs of the church, and in their walking be- 
fore men. Though there was no person the discontented 
struck so sharpl}^ at, as this good man, he bore all their 
weakness and prejudice, and returned not reflection for re- 
flection ; but forgave them their weak and bitter speeches, 
praying for them, that they might have a sense of their 
hurt, and see the subtilty of the enemy to rend and divide, 
and return into their first love that thought no ill. 

And truly I must say, that though God had visibly 
clothed him with a divine preference and authority, — and 
i:ideed his very presence expressed a religious majesty, — 
yet he never abused it ; but held his place in the church 
of God with great meekness, and a most engaging humility 
and moderation. For, upon all occasions, like his blessed 
Master, he was a servant to all ; holding and exercising 
his eldership in the invisible power that had gathered 
them, with reverence to the head and care over the body ; 
and was received, only in that spirit and power of Christ, 
as the first and chief elder in this age ; who, as he was 
therefore worthy of double honor, so for the same reason 
it was given by the faithful of this day, because his 
authority was inward and not outward, and that he got 
it and kept it by the love of God, and power of an end- 
less life. I write my knowledge, and not report, and my 
witness is true ; having been with him for weeks and 
months together on divers occasions, and those of the 
nearest and most exercising nature ; and that by night 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 407 

and by day, by sea and by land; in this and in foreign 
countries ; and I can say, I never saw him out of his 
place, or not a match for every service or occasion. 

For in all things he acquitted himself like a man, yea, 
a strong man, a new and heavenly-minded man, a divine 
and a naturalist, and all of God Almighty's making. I 
have been surprised at his questions and answers in 
natural things ; that whilst he was ignorant of useless 
and sophistical science, he had in him the grounds of use- 
ful and commendable knowledge, and cherished it every- 
where ; civil beyond all forms of breeding in his behavior ; 
very temperate, eating little, and sleeping less, though a 
bulky person. 

Thus he lived and sojourned among us. And as he 
lived, so he died ; feeling the same eternal power that had 
raised and preserved him, in his last moments. So full 
of assurance was he, that he triumphed over death ; and 
so even in his spirit to the last, as if death were hardly 
worth notice or a mention ; recommending to some of us 
with him the despatch and dispersion of an epistle just 
before given forth by him to the churches of Christ 
throughout the world, and his own books ; but above all, 
Friends, and of all Friends, those in Ireland and America ; 
twice over saying. Mind poor Friends in Ireland and 
America. 

And to some that came in and inquired how he found 
himself, he answered, " Never heed, the Lord's power is 
over all weakness and death ; the seed reigns, blessed be 
the Lord; " which was about four or five hours before his 
departure out of this world. He was at the great meeting 
near Lombard Street, on the First day of the week, and it 



408 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

was the third following-, about ton at night, when he h^t 
us. 

In a g-ood old age he went, aftev having" lived to see his 
children's ehiUlren in the truth to many generations, lie 
had tlie eon\fort of a short illness, and the blessing- of a 
clear sense to the last; and we may truly say, with a man 
of God of old, that being- dead, he yet speaketh ; and 
thoug-h now absent in body, he is present in spirit: 
neither time nor place being able to interrupt the com- 
munion of saints, or dissolve the fellowship of the spirits 
of the just. Ilis works praise him, because they are to 
the praise of Him that wroug-ht by him; for which his 
memorial is and shall be blessed. I have done, as to this 
part of my subject, when I have left this short ei)itaph to 
his name : " Many sons have done virtuously in this day ; 
but, dear George, thou excellest them all." 

And now. Friends, you that profess to walk in the way 
that this blessed man was sent of God to turn us into, 
sniVer, I beseech you, the word of exhortation, as well 
fathers as children, and elders as young- men. The glory 
of this day. and foundation of the hope that has not made 
us ashauuHl since we were a people, you know, is that 
blessed principle of lig-ht and life of Christ which we pro- 
fess, and direct all people to, as the g-reat and divine in- 
strument and agent of man's conversion to God. It was 
by this that we were first touched and etfeetually en- 
lig-htened, as to our inward state; which put us upon the 
consideration of our latter end ; causing us to set the 
liOrd before our eyes, and to number our days, that we 
might apply our hearts to wisdom. In that day wo 



OF W i L T. I A M P i: N X . 409 

judged not after the sight of the eye, or after the hear- 
ing of the ear ; but according to the light and sense this 
blessed principle gave us, so we judged and acted in ref- 
erence to things and persons, ourselves and others ; yea, 
towards God our Maker. For, being quickened by it in 
our inward man, we could easily discern the difference of 
things, and feel what was right, and what was wrong, 
and what was fit, and what not, both in reference to re- 
ligious and civil concerns. That being the ground of the 
fellowship of all saints, it was in that our fellowship stood. 
In this we desired to have a sense of one another, acted 
towards one another and all men, in love, faithfulness, 
and fear. 

In feeling of the stirrings and motions of this principle 
in our hearts, we drew near to the Lord, and waited to 
be prepared by it, that we might feel drawings and mov- 
ings before we approached the Lord in prayer, or opened 
our mouths in ministry. And in our beginning and end- 
ing with this, stood our comfort, service, and edification. 
And as we ran faster or fell short in our services, we 
made burdens for ourselves to bear ; finding in ourselves 
a rebuke instead of an acceptance ; and in lieu of w^ell- 
done, who has required this at your hands ? In that day 
we were an exercised people — our very countenances and 
deportment declared it. 

Care for others was then much upon us, as well as for 
ourselves ; especially of the young convinced. Often had 
we the burthen of the word of the Lord to our neighbors, 
relations, and acquaintance, and sometimes strangers also 
We were in travail likewise for one another's preserva- 
tion ; not seeking, but shunning occasions of any coldness 



410 PJ^SSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

or misunderstanding ; treating- one another as those that 
believed and felt God present ; which kept our conversa- 
tion innocent, serious, and weighty ; guarding ourselves 
against the cares and friendships of the world. 

We held the Truth in the spirit of it, and not in our 
own spirits, or after our own will and affections ; they 
were bowed and brought into subjection, insomuch that it 
was visible to them that knew us. We did not think 
ourselves at our own disposal, to go where we list, or say 
or do what we list or when we list. Our liberty stood in 
the liberty of the Spirit of Truth ; and no pleasure, no 
profit, no fear, no favor could draw us from this retired, 
strict, and watchful frame. We were so far from seeking 
occasions of company, that we avoided them what we 
could ; pursuing our own business with moderation, in- 
stead of meddling with other peoples' unnecessarily. 

Our words were few and savory, our looks composed 
and weighty, and our whole deportment very observable. 
True it is, that this retired and strict sort of life, from the 
liberty of the conversation of the world, exposed us to the 
censures of many, as humorists, conceited and self-right- 
eous persons, etc. But it was our preservation from many 
snares, to which others were continually exposed, by the 
prevalency of the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and 
the pride of life, that wanted no occasions or temptations 
to excite them abroad in the converse of the world. 

I cannot forget the humility and chaste zeal of that day. 
Oh, how constant at meetings, how retired in them, how 
firm to Truth's life as well as Truth's principles! jlnd 
bow entire and united in our communion, as indeed be- 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 411 

came those that profess one Head, even Christ Jesus the 
Lord. 

And now as to you, my beloved and much honored 
brethren in Christ, that are in the exercise of the ministry : 
Oh, feel life in your ministry — let life be your commission, 
your wellspring and treasury on all such occasions, else 
you well know, there can be no begetting to God, since 
nothing" can quicken or make people alive to God but the 
life of God ; and it must be a ministry in and from life 
that enlivens any people to God. It is not our parts, or 
memory, or the repetition of former openings, in our own 
will and time, that will do God's work. A dry doctrinal 
ministry, however sound in words, can reach but the ear, 
and is but a dream at the best. There is another sound- 
ness, that is soundest of all, viz., Christ the power of God. 
This is the key of David, that opens and none shuts, and 
shuts and none can open. As the oil to the lamp, and the 
soul to the body, so is that to the best of words, which 
made Christ to say, "-My words, they are spirit, and they 
are life," that is, they are from life, and therefore they 
make you alive that receive them. If the disciples, that 
had lived with Jesus, were to stay at Jerusalem till they 
received it, much more must we wait to receive before we 
minister, if we will turn people from darkness to light, and 
from Satan's power to God. 

I fervently bow my knees to the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that you may always be like-minded ; 
that you may ever wait reverently for the coming and 
opening of the Word of Life, and attend upon it in your 
ministry and service ; that you may serve God in his 
Spirit. And be it little or be it much, it is well ; for 



412 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

much is not too much, and the least is enough, if from the 
motion of God's Spirit ; and without it, verily, never so 
little is too much, because to no profit. 

For it is the Spirit of the Lord immediately, or through 
the ministry of his servants, that teacheth his people to 
profit; and to be sure, so far as we take Him along with 
us in our services, so far we are profitable and no farther. 
For if it be the Lord that must work all things in us for 
our salvation, much more is it the Lord that must work in 
us for the conversion of others. If, therefore, it was once 
a cross to us to speak, though the Lord required it at our 
hands, let it never be so to be silent when He does not. 

Wherefore, brethren, let us be careful neither to outgo 
our Guide, nor yet loiter behind Him, since he that makes 
baste may miss his way, and he that stays behind lose his 
guide. For even those that have received the word of 
the Lord had need wait for wisdom, that they may see 
how to divide the word aright, which plainly implieth 
that it is possible for one that hath received the word of 
the Lord to miss in the dividing and application of it, 
which must come from an impatience of spirit, and a self- 
working, which makes an unsound and dangerous mix- 
ture, and will hardly beget a right-minded living people 
to God. 

And wherever it is observed that any do minister more 
from gifts and parts than life and power, though they 
have an enlightened and doctrinal understanding, let them 
in time be advised and admonished for their preservation, 
because insensibly such will come to depend upon a self- 
sufficiency ; to forsake Christ, the living fountain, and hew 
out unto themselves cisterns that will hold no living 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 413 

waters; and by cleg-rees such will come to draw others 
from waiting upon the gift of God in themselves, and to 
feel it in others, in order to their strength and refreshment, 
to wait upon them, and to turn from God to man again, 
and so make shipwreck of the faith once delivered to the 
saints, and of a good conscience towards God, which are 
only kept by that divine gifL of life that begat the one 
and awakened and sanctified the other in the beginning. 

Nor is it enough that we have known the divine gift, 
and in it have reached to the spirits in prison, and been 
the instruments of the convincing of others of the way of 
God, if we keep not as low and poor in ourselves, and as 
depending upon the Lord as ever, since no memory, no 
repetitions of former openings, revelations, or enjoyments, 
will bring a soul to God, or afford bread to the hungry, or 
water to the thirsty, unless life go with what we say, and 
that must be waited for. 

Oh, that we may have no other fountain, treasure, or 
dependence. That none may presume, at any rate, to act 
of themselves for God, because they have long acted from 
God ; that we may not supply want of waiting with our 
own wisdom, or think that we may take less care and 
more liberty in speaking than formerly ; and that where 
we do not feel the Lord, by his power, to open us and 
enlarge us, whatever be the expectation of the people, or 
has been our customary supply and character, we may not 
exceed or fill up the time with our own. 

I cannot but cr}^ and call aloud to you, that have been 

long professors of the Truth, and know the Truth in the 

convincing power of it, and have had a sober conversation 

among men, yet content yourselves only to know Truth 

35* 



414 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

for yourselves, to go to meetings, and exercise an ordi- 
nary charity in the church, and an honest behavior in the 
world, and limit yourselves within these bounds ; feeling- 
little or no concern upon your spirits for the glory of the 
Lord in the prosperity of his Truth in the earth, more 
than to be glad that others succeed in such service. Arise 
ye in the name and power of the Lord Jesus 1 Behold 
how white the fields are unto harvest in this and other 
nations, and how few able and faithful laborers there are 
to work therein I Your country-folks, neighbors, and 
kindred want to know the Lord and his Truth, and to 
walk in it. Does nothing lie at your door upon their 
account? Search and see, and lose no time, I beseech 
you, for the Lord is at hand. 

Ponder your ways, and see if God has nothing more 
for you to do ; and if you find yourselves short in your 
account with Him, then wait for his preparation, and be 
ready to receive the word of command, and be not weary 
of well-doing, when you have put your hand to the 
plough ; and assuredly you shall reap, if you faint not, 
the fruit of your heavenly labor in God's everlasting 
kingdom. 

And you, young convinced ones, be you intrcated and 
exhorted to a diligent and chaste waiting upon God, in 
the way of his blessed manifestation and appearance of 
Himself to you. Look not out, but within ; lot not 
another's liberty be your snare ; neither act by imitation, 
but sense and feeling of God's power in yourselves ; 
crush not the tender buddings of it in 3^our souls, nor 
overrun, in your desires and warmness of afi'ections, the 
holy and gentle motions of it. Remember it is a stilJ 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 415 

voice that speaks to us in this day, and that it is not to be 
heard in the noises and hurries of the mind ; but it is 
distinctly understood in a retired frame. Jesus loved and 
chose solitudes ; often going to mountains, gardens, and 
seasides, to avoid crowds and hurries, to show his dis- 
ciples it was good to be solitary, and sit loose to the 
world. Two enemies lie near your states, imagination 
and liberty ; but the plain, practical, living, holy Truth, 
that has convinced you, will preserve you, if you mind 
it in yourselves, and bring all thoughts, inclinations, and 
affections to the lest of it, to see if they are wrought 
in God, or of the enemy, or your ownselves. So will a 
true taste, discerning, and judgment be preserved to- you, 
of what you should do and leave undone. And when 
you are converted, as well as convinced, then confirm 
your brethren ; and be ready to every good word and 
work that the Lord shall call you to. 

And now, as for you, that are the children of God's 
people, a great concern is upon my spirit for your good. 
you young men and women ! let it not suffice you, that 
you are the children of the people of the Lord ; you 
must also be born again, if you will inherit the kingdom 
of God. Have you obeyed the light, and received and 
walked in the Spirit, which is the incorruptible seed of 
the Word and kingdom of God, of which you must be 
born again ? God is no respecter of persons. The father 
cannot save or answer for the child, or the child for the 
father. Your many and great privileges above the chil- 
dren of other people, will add weight in the scale against 
you, if you choose not the way of the Lord. For you 
have had line upon line, and precept upon precept, arid 



416 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

not only good doctrine, but good example ; and, which is 
more, you have been turned to, and acquainted with, a 
principle in yourselves, which others have been ignorant of. 
Wherefore, ye young men and women ! look to the 
rock of your fathers. There is no other God but Him, 
no other light but his, no other grace but his, nor spirit 
but his, to convince you, quicken and comfort you ; to 
lead, guide, and preserve you to God's everlasting king- 
dom. So will you be possessors as well as professors of 
the Truth, embracing it not only by education, but judg- 
ment and conviction ; from a sense begotten in your souls, 
through the operation of the eternal Spirit and power of 
God.' 

I shall conclude with a few words to those that are not 
of our communion, into whose hands this may come. 

I beseech you, ponder with yourselves your eternal 
condition, and see what title, what ground and founda- 
tion you have for your Christianity ; if more than a pro- 
fession, and an historical belief of the gospel. Have you 
known the baptism of fire, and the Holy Ghost, and the 
fan of Christ that winnows away the chaff 'in your 
minds, and carnal lusts and affections ? — that divine leaven 
of the kingdom, that, being received, leavens the whole 
lump of man, sanctifying him throughout in body, soul, 
and spirit. 

If you have true faith in Christ, your faith will make 
you clean ; it will sanctify you ; for the saints' faith was 
their victory of old. By this they overcame sin within, 
and sinful men without. And if thou art in Christ, thou 
walkcst not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, whose 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 4.17 

fruits are manifest. Yea, thou art a new creature : now 
made, new fashioned, after God's will and mould. Old 
things are done away, and behold all things are become 
new ; new love, desires, will, affections, and practices. 
Therefore, have a care how you presume to rely upon 
such a notion, as that you are in Christ, whilst in your 
old fallen nature. 

If you would know God, and worship and serve God 
as you should do, you must come to the means He has or- 
dained and given for that purpose. Some seek it in books, 
some in learned men ; but what they look for is in them- 
selves, though not of themselves ; but they overlook it. The 
voice is too still, the seed too small, and the light shineth in 
darkness. Wherefore, Friends, turn in, turn in, I beseech 
you. There you want Christ, and there you must find Him ; 
and blessed be God, there you may find Him. Seek and 
you shall find, I testify for God. But then you must seek 
aright, with your whole heart, as men that seek for their 
lives, yea, for their eternal lives ; diligently, humbly, 
patiently, as those that can taste no pleasure, comfort, or 
satisfaction in anything else, unless you find Him whom 
your souls desire to know and love above all. Oh I it is 
a travail, a spiritual travail, let the carnal, profane world 
think and say as it will. And through this path you 
must walk to the city of God, that has eternal founda- 
tions, if ever you will come there. 

Well ! and what does this blessed light do for you ? 
Why, first, it sets all your sins in order before you ; it 
detects the spirit of this world in all its baits and allure- 
ments, and shows how man came to fall from God, and 
the fallen estate he is in. Secondly, it begets a sense and 

2B 



418 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 

sorrow in such as believe in it, for this fearful lapse. You 
will then see Him distinctly whom you have pierced, and 
all the blows and wounds you have given Him by your 
disobedience, and how you have made Him to serve with 
your sins ; and you will weep and mourn for it, and your 
sorrow will be a godly sorrow. Thirdly, after this it will 
bring you to the holy watch, to take care that you do so no 
more, and that the enemy surprise you not again. Then 
thoughts, as well as words and works, will come to judg- 
ment ; which is the way of holiness, in which the redeemed 
of the Lord do walk. Here you will come to love God 
above all, and your neighbors as yourselves. Nothing hurts, 
nothing harms, nothing makes afraid on this holy mountain. 
Now you come to be Christ's indeed ; for you are his in 
nature and spirit, and not your own. And when you are 
thus Christ's, then Christ is yours, and not before. And 
here communion with the Father and with the Son you 
will know, and the efficacy of the blood of cleansing, even 
the blood of Jesus Christ, that immaculate Lamb, which 
speaks better things than the blood of Abel ; and which 
cleanseth from all sin the consciences of those that through 
the living faith come to be sprinkled with it, from dead 
works to serve the living God. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 419 



XXII. 

IN the year 1695, an anonymous writer published what 
he called an answer to William Penn's Key ; a tract 
which has been noticed under the transactions of 1G92. 

The writer, having charged him with prevarication, and 
attributed his conduct to an intemperate zeal for an un- 
bounded liberty of conscience, according to the doctrine 
of King James's declaration, William Penn refers him to 
several of his works which were published in Charles's 
time, to show that he alwa3^s defended the same principles, 
and was not more intemperate in the reign that favored 
liberty of conscience than he was in the one which did 
not. To which he adds, '' No man but a persecutor can, 
without great injustice or ingratitude, reproach that part 
I had in King James's court. For I think I may say, 
without vanity, upon this provocation, I endeavored at 
least to do some good at my own cost, and would have 
been glad to have done more. I am very sure I intended, 
and I think I did-, harm to none, either parties or private 
persons, my own family excepted." 

On the 5th of First month, 1696, William Perm accom- 
plished his marriage at Bristol with Hannah Callowhill, 
'daughter of Thomas Callowhill, and granddaughter of 
Dennis Hollister, both eminent merchants of that city. 

Shortly after this he was subjected to a heavy trial, by 
the death of his eldest son, a youth of very promising 



420 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

characti r, both in regard to his understanding, which was 
of the brightest order, and the more substantial virtues 
of the heart. 

His father has left the following record : 

" My very dear child and eldest son, Springett. Penn, 
from his childhood manifested a disposition to goodness, 
and gave me hope of a more than ordinary capacity ; and 
time satisfied me in both respects. Besides a good share 
of learning and especially of mathematical knowledge, he 
showed a judgment in the use and application of it, much 
above his years. He had the seeds of many good quali- 
ties rising in him, which made him beloved, and conse- 
quently lamented ; but especially his humility, plainness, 
and truth ; with a tenderness and softness of nature that, 
if I may. say it, were an improvement upon his other good 
qualities. And though these were no security against sick- 
ness and death, yet they went a good way to facilitate a 
due preparation for them. Indeed the good ground that 
was in him shewed itself very plainly sometime before his 
illness. For more than half a year before it pleased the 
Lord to visit him with weakness, he grew more retired, 
and much disengaged from youthful delights ; showing a 
remarkable tenderness in meetings, even when they were 
silent. But when he saw himself doubtful as to his re- 
covery, he turned his mind and meditations more appar- 
ently towards the Lord ; secretly, as also when those 
were in the room who attended upon him, praying often 
with great fervency to the Lord, and uttering many 
thankful expressions and praises to Him in a very deep 
and sensible manner. One day he said to us, ' I am re- 
Bigned to what God pleaseth j He knows what is best. I 



OF WILLIAM PENN". 421 

would live, if it pleased Him, that I might serve Him. 
But, Lord, not my will, but thy will be done.' 

"One speaking to him of the things of this world, and 
what might please him when recovered, he answered, 
'My eye looks another way, where the truest pleasure is.' 
When he told me he had rested well, and I said it was a 
mercy to him, he quickly replied upon me, with a serious 
yet sweet look, 'AH is mercy, dear father ; everything is 
mercy.' Another time when I went to meeting, at part- 
ing, he said, ' Remember me, my dear father, before the 
Lord. Though I cannot go to meetings, yet I have many 
good meetings; the Lord comes in upon my spirit. I 
have heavenly meetings with Him by myself.' 

" Not many days before he died, while alone, the Lord 
appeared by his holy power upon his spirit, and at my 
return, asking him how he did, he told me, 'Oh, I have had 
a sweet time, a blessed time ! Great enjoyments. The 
power of the Lord overcame my soul : a sweet time in- 
deed ! ' 

" On my telling hini how some of the gentry who had 
been to visit him were gone to their games, and sports, 
and pleasures, and how little consideration the children 
of men had of God and their latter end ; and how much 
happier he was in this weakness, to have been otherwise 
educated, and to be preserved from those temptations to 
vanity, etc., he answered, ' It is all stuff, my dear father : 
it is sad stuff. Oh, that I might live to tell them so ! ' ' Well, 
my dear child,' I replied, 'let this be the time of thy enter- 
ing into secret covenant with God, that if He raise thee, 
thou wilt dedicate thy youth, strength, and life to Him and 
his people and service.' He returned, ' Father, that is not 
36 



422 PAiSSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

now to do ; it is not now to do;' with great tenderness 
upon his spirit. 

" Being' almost ever near him, and doing anything for 
him he wanted or desired, he broke out with much sense 
and love, * My dear father, if I live I will make thee amends.' 
And speaking to him of Divine enjoyments, that the eye 
of man saw not, but the soul, made alive by the spirit of 
Christ, plainly felt ; he, in a lively remembrance, cried 
out, 'I had a sweet time yesterday by myself! the Lord 
hath preserved me to this day I blessed be his name ; 
my soul praises Him for his mercy I Father, it is of the 
goodness of the Lord that I am as well as I am I ' Fixing 
his eyes upon his sister, he took her by the hand, saying, 
' Poor Tishc, look to good things, poor child, there is no 
comfort without it. One drop of the love of God is worth 
more than all the world. I know it ; I have tasted it. I 
have felt as much or more of the love of God in this weak- 
ness than in all my life before.' At another time, as I 
stood by him, he looked up upon me and said, ' Dear father, 
sit by me. I love thy company, and I know thou lovest 
mine ; and if it be the Lord's will that we must part, be 
not troubled, for that will trouble me.' 

" Taking something one night in bed, just before going 
to rest, he sat up, and fervently prayed thus ; ' Lord 
God, thou whose Son said to his disciples. Whatsoever ye 
ask in my name ye shall receive, I pray thee, in his 
name, bless this to me this night, and give me rest, if it 
be thy blessed will, Lord I ' And accordingly he had a 
very comfortable niglit, of which he took a thankful notice 
before us next day. 

"And when he at one time, more than ordinarily, ex- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 423 

pressed a desire to live, and entreated me to pray for him, 
he added, * Dear father, if the Lord should raise me and 
enable me to serve Him and his people, then I might travel 
with thee sometimes, and we might ease one another,' 
(meaning in the ministry :) he spoke it with great mod- 
esty. Upon which I said to him, ' My dear child, if it 
please the Lord to raise thee, I am satisfied it will be so ; 
and if not, then inasmuch as it is thy fervent desire in the 
Lord, He will look upon thee just as if thou didst live to 
serve Him, and thy comfort will be the same : so either 
way it w^ll be well. For if thou shouldst not live, I do 
verily believe thou wilt have the recompense of thy good 
desires, without the temptations and troubles that would 
attend, if long life were granted to thee.' 

"Saying one day, ' I am resolved I will have such a thing 
done,' he immediately catched himself, and fell into this 
reflection, with much contrition, 'Did I say, I will? O 
Lord, forgive me that irreverent and hasty expression I 
I am a poor weak creature and live by thee, and therefore 
I should have said, if it pleaseth thee that I live, I intend 
to do so or so ; Lord, forgive my rash expression.' 

'' Seeing my present wife ready to be helpful and do 
anything for him, he turned to her and said, ' Don't thou 
do so ; let them ; don't trouble thyself so much for such a 
poor creature as I am.' On her taking leave of him a few 
nights before his end, he said to her, * Pray for me, dear 
mother : thou art good and innocent, it may be the Lord 
may hear thy prayers for me, for I desire my strength 
again, that I might live, and employ it more in the Lord's 
service.' 

"Two or three days before his departure, he called his 



424 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

brother to. him, and looking awfully upon him said, 'Be a 
good boy, and know there is a God, a great and mighty 
God, who is a re warder of the righteous, and so He is of 
the wicked, but their rewards are not the same. Have a 
care of idle people and idle company, and love good com- 
pany and good Friends, and the Lord will bless thee. I 
have seen good things for thee since my sickness, if thou 
dost but fear the Lord. And if I should not live, though 
the Lord is all-sufficient, remember what I say to thee, 
when I am dead and gone : poor child, the Lord bless 
thee ; come and kiss me I ' Which melted us all into great 
tenderness, but his brother more particularly. 

" Many good exhortations he gave to some of the ser- 
vants, and others who came to see him, that were not of 
our communion, as well as those that were, which drew 
tears from their eyes. 

" The day but one before he died, he went to take the 
air in a coach ; but said at his return, ' Really, father, I am 
exceedingly weak ; thou canst not think how weak I am.' 
' My dear child,' I replied, 'thou art weak, but God is strong, 
who is the strength of thy life.' ' Ay, that is it,' said he, 
'which upholdeth me.' The day before he departed, being 
alone with him, he desired me to fasten the door ; and look- 
ing earnestly upon me, said, ' Dear father, thou art a dear 
father, and I know thy Father ; come let us two have a 
little meeting, a private ejaculation together, now nobody 
else is here. O my soul is sensible of the love of God I ' 
And indeed a sweet time we had, like to precious oint- 
ment for his burial. 

" He desired to go home, if not to live, to die there, and 
we made preparation for it, being twenty miles from my 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 425 

house ; and so much stronger was his spirit than his body, 
that he spoke of going next day, which was the morning 
he departed; and a symptom it was of his great journey 
to his longer home. That morning he left us, growing 
more and more sensible of his extreme weakness he 
asked me, as doubtful of himself, 'How shall I go 
home ? ' I told him in a coach ; he answered, ' I am 
best in a coach.' But observing his decay, I said, ' Why, 
child? thou art at home everywhere.' 'Ay,' said he, 'so 
I am in the Lord.' I took that opportunity to ask him if 
I should remember his love to his friends at Bristol, Lon- 
don, etc. 'Yes, yes,' said he, 'my love in the Lord; my 
love to all friends in the Lord.' 'And relations, too?' 
He said, ' Ay, to be sure.' Being asked if he would have 
his ass's milk, or eat anything, he answered, 'No more 
outward food, but heavenly food is provided for me.' 

" His time drawing on apace, he said to me, ' My dear 
father, kiss me. Thou art a dear father. I desire to prize 
it ; how can I make thee amends ? ' 

" He also called his sister, and said to her, * Poor child, 
come and kiss me ; ' there seemed a tender and long fare- 
well between them. I sent for his brother that he might 
kiss him, too, which he did ; all w^ere in tears about him, 
and turning his head to me, he said softly, ' Dear father, 
hast thou no hope for me ? ' I answered, ' My dear child, 
I am afraid to hope, and I dare not despair ; but am and 
have been resigned, though one of the hardest lessons I 
ever learned.' He paused awhile, and with a composed 
frame of mind, said, ' Come life, come death, I am re- 
signed. Oh, the love of God overcomes my soul I ' Feel- 
ing himself decline apace, and seeing him not able to bring 
36* 



426 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

up the matter that was in his throat, somebody fetched 
the doctor, but so soon as he came in, he said, ' Let my 
father speak to the doctor, and I will go to sleep ; ' which 
he did, and waked no more, breathing his last on my 
breast, the 10th day of the Second month, between the 
hours of nine and ten in the morning, 169G, in his one 
and twentieth year. 

" So ended the life of my dear child and eldest son, 
much of my comfort and hope, and one of the most tender 
and dutiful, as well as ingenuous and virtuous, youths I 
knew, if I may say so of my own dear child. In him I 
lost all that any father can lose in a child, since he was 
capable of anything that became a sober young man ; my 
friend and companion, as well as most affectionate and 
dutiful child. 

" May this loss and end have its due weight and im- 
pression upon all his dear relations and friends, and those 
to whose hands this account may come, for their remem- 
brance and preparation for their great and last change ; 
and I shall have my end in making my dear child thus 
far public. William Penn." 

The year in which the events 'last mentioned occurred 
appears to have been passed by William Penn chiefly at 
home ; yet he was not entirely occupied with his secular 
concerns, for he published a tract, entitled, " Primitive 
Christianity Revived, in the Faith and Practice of 
THE People called Quakers," (from which the following 
is taken.) 

That which the people called Quakers lay down as a 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 427 

main fundamental in religion, is this, That God, through 
Christ, hath placed his Spirit in every man, to inform him 
of his duty, and to enable him to do it ; and that those 
who live up to this, are the people of God, and those that 
live in disobedience to it are not God's people, whatever 
name they may bear or profession they may make of re- 
ligion. This is their ancient, first, and standing testimony. 
With this they began, and this they bore, and do bear to 
the world. 

By this Spirit they understand something that is Divine ; 
and though in man, yet not of man, but of God ; and 
that it came from Him, and leads to Him all those that 
will be led by it. 

There are divers ways of speaking, which they have 
been led to use, by which they declare and express what 
this Spirit is, about which I think fit to precaution the 
reader, viz., They call it. The light of Christ within man, 
or light within, which is their ancient and most general 
and familiar phrase ; also the manifestation or appearance 
of Christ, the witness of God, the seed of God, the seed 
of the kingdom, wisdom, the word in the heart, the grace 
that appears to all men, the Spirit given to every man to 
profit with, the Truth in* the inward parts, the spiritual 
leaven that leavens the whole lump of man ; many of 
which are figurative expressions, but all of them such as 
the Holy Ghost hath used, and which will be used in this 
treatise, as they are most frequently in the writings and 
ministry of this people. But that this variety and manner 
of expression may not occasion any misapprehension or 
confusion in the understanding of the reader, I would 
have him know tliat they always mean by these terms 



4:28 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

or denominations, not another, but the same as before 
mentioned ; whieh as I said, though it be in man, is not 
of man, but of God, and, therefore, divine ; and one in 
itself, though diversely expressed by the holy men, accord- 
ing to the various manifestations and operations thereof. 

It is to this spirit of light, life, and grace that this 
people refer all ; for they say it is the great agent in re- 
ligion; that, without which, there is no conviction, so no 
conversion or regeneration ; and consequently no enter- 
ing into the kingdom of God. That is to say, there can 
be no true sight of sin or sorrow for it, and, therefore, no 
forsaking or overcoming it, nor remission or justification 
from it. 

The doctrines of satisfaction and justification, truly 
understood, are placed in so strict a union, that the one is 
a necessary consequence of the other, and what we say of 
them, is what agrees with the suffrage of Scripture, and 
for the most part in the terms of it ; always believing that 
in points where there arises any difficulty, be it from the 
obscurity of expression, mis-translation, or the dust raised 
by the heats of partial vrriters, or nice critics, it is ever 
best to keep close to the text, and maintain charity in the 
rest. 

We do believe that Jesus Christ was our holy sacrifice, 
atonement, and propitiation ; that He bore our iniquities, 
and that by his stripes we were healed of the wounds 
Adam gave us in his fall ; and that God is just in for- 
giving true penitents upon the credit of that holy offering 
which Christ made of himself to God for us; and that 
what He did and suffered, satisfied and pleased God, and 
was for the sake of fallen man, who had displeased God : 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 429 

and that through the offering up of himself once for all, 
through Ihe eternal Spirit, lie hath forever perfected those 
(in all times) that were sanctified, who walked not after 
the flesh, but after the spirit, Rom. viii. 1. 

Justification consists of two parts, or hath a twofold 
consideration, viz. justification from the guilt of sin, and 
justification from the power and pollution of sin ; and in 
this sense justification gives a man a full and clear accept- 
ance before God. For want of this latter part it is, that 
so many souls, religiously inclined, are often under doubts, 
scruples, and despondencies, notwithstanding all that 
their teachers tell them of the extent and efficacy of the 
first part of justification. And it is too general an un- 
happiness among the professors of Christianity, that they 
are apt to cloak their own active and passive disobedience 
with the active and passive obedience of Christ. 

The first part of justification, we do ' reverently and 
humbly acknowledge, is only for the sake of the death 
and sufferings of Christ ; nothing we can do, though by 
the operation of the Holy Spirit, being able to cancel old 
debts, or wipe out old scores ; it is the power and efficacy 
of that propitiatory offering, upon faith and repentance, 
that justifies us from the sins that are past; and it is the 
power of Christ's spirit in our hearts, that purifies and 
makes us acceptable before God. For until the heart of 
man is purged from sin, God will never accept of it. He 
reproves, rebukes and condemns those that entertain sin 
there, and therefore such cannot be said to be in a justified 
state; condemnation and justification being contraries. 
So that they that hold themselves in a justified state by 
the active and passive obedience of Christ, while they are 



430 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

not actively and passively obedient to the spirit of Christ 
Jesus, are under a strong and dangerous delusion ; and 
for crying out against this sin-pleasing imagination, not 
to say doctrine, we are reproached as deniers and despisers 
of the death and sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. But 
be it known to such they add to Christ's sufferings, and 
crucify to themselves afresh the Son of God, and trample 
the blood of the covenant under their feet, who walk 
unholily under a profession of justification ; for God will 
not acquit the guilty, nor justify the disobedient and un- 
faithful. 

Wherefore, my reader, rest not thyself wholly satis- 
fied with what Christ has done for thee in his blessed per- 
son without thee, but press to k?iow his power and king- 
dom within thee, that the strong man, who has too long 
kept thy house, may be bound and his goods spoiled, his 
works destroyed and sin ended, according to 1 John iii. 
Y. For which end, says that beloved disciple, Christ was 
manifested ; that all things may become new ; new heav- 
ens and new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Thus 
thou wilt come to glorify God in thy body and in thy 
spirit, which are his ; and live to him and not to thyself. 
Thy love, joy, worship, and obedience ; thy life, conversa- 
tion and practice; thy study, meditation and devotion, will 
be spiritual. The Father and the Son will make their 
abode with thee, and Christ will manifest himself to thee ; 
for the secrets of the Lord are with them that fear Him ; 
and an holy unction or anointing have all those, which 
leads them into all truth, and they need not the teachings 
of men. They are better taught, being instructed by the 
Divine oracle. They are not bare hearsay or traditional 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 431 

Christians, but fresh and living witnesses : those that have 
seen with their own eyes, and heard with their own ears, 
and have handled with their own hands the Word of life, 
in the divers operations of it, to their souls' salvation. 
In this they meet, in this they preach, and in this they 
pray and praise ; behold the new covenant fulfilled, the 
church and worship of Christ, the great anointed of God 
and the great anointing of God in his holy high priest- 
hood and offices in his church ! 

And lest any should say we are equivocal in our ex- 
pressions, and allegorize away Christ's appearance in the 
flesh — meaning only thereby our own flesh ; and that as 
often as we mention Him, we mean only a mystery or a 
mystical sense of Him, be it as to his coming, birth, mira- 
cles, sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension, mediation, 
and judgment ; I would yet add, to preserve the well dis- 
posed from being staggered by such suggestions, and to 
inform and reclaim such as are under the power and preju- 
dice of them : 

That we do, v/e bless God, religiously believe and con- 
fess, to the glory of God the Father, and the honor of his 
dear and beloved Son, that Jesus Christ took our nature 
upon Him, and was like unto us in all things, sin except- 
ed ; that He was born of the Yirgin Mary ; sufl*ered under 
Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor ; was crucified, dead, 
and buried in the sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea ; rose 
again the third day, and ascended into heaven, and sits 
on the right hand of God, in the power and majesty of his 
Father, who will one day judge the world by Him, even 
that blessed man, Christ Jesus, according to their works. 

But, because we so believe, must we not believe what 



432 PASSAGES. FROM THE LIFE 

CJhrist said ? " He that is with you shall be in you." "I 
in them, and they in me," etc. " When it pleased God to 
reveal his Son in me." " The mystery hid from ages is 
Christ in the Gentiles, the hope of glory." " Unless Christ 
be in you, ye are reprobates 1 " Or must we be industri- 
ously represented as deniers of Christ's coming in the 
flesh, and the holy ends of it, in all the parts and branches 
of his doing and suffering, only because we believe and 
press the necessity of believing, receiving and obeying his 
inward and spiritual appearance and manifestation of him- 
self, through his light, grace, and Spirit in the hearts and 
consciences of men and women, to reprove, convict, con- 
vert, and change them ? 

Regeneration we must know, or we cannot be children 
of God and heirs of eternal glory. To be born again, an- 
other spirit must prevail, leaven, season, and govern us 
than either the spirit of the world or our own depraved 
spirits ; and this can be no other Spirit than that which 
dwelt in Christ ; for unless that dwell in us, we can be 
none of his (Rom. viii. 9). And this Spirit begins in con- 
viction, and ends in conversion and perseverance; and the 
one follows the other. Conversion being the consequence 
of convictions obeyed, and perseverance a natural fruit of 
conversion, and being born of God ; " For such sin not, 
because the Seed of God abides in them." But such, 
through faithfulness, continue to the end, and obtain the 
promise, even everlasting life. 

But let my reader take this along with him, that we 
do acknowledge that Christ, through his holy doing and 
suffering, for being a Son, lie learned obedience, has ob- 
tained mercy of God, his Father, for mankind, and tlat 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 43S 

his olbedience has an influence to our salvation, in all the 
parts and. branches of it, since thereby he became a con- 
queror, and led captivity captive, and obtained gifts for 
men, with divers great and precious promises, that there- 
by we might be partakers of the Divine nature, having 
escaped the corruption that is in the world, through lust. 
I say, we do believe and confess, that the active and passive 
obedience of Christ Jesus affects our salvation throughout, 
as well from the power and pollution of sin as from the 
guilt, he being a conqueror as well as a sacrifice, and both 
through suffering. Yet they that reject his Divine gift, 
so obtained, and which He has given to them, by which to 
see their sin and the sinfulness of it, and to repent and 
turn away from it, and do so no more ; and to wait upon 
God for daily strength to resist the fiery darts of the 
enemy, and to be comforted through the obedience of 
faith in and to this Divine grace of the Son of God, such 
do not please God, do not believe truly in God, nor are 
they in a state of true Christianity and salvation. " Wo- 
man," said Christ to the Samaritan at the well, " hadst 
thou known the gift of God, and who it is that speaketh 
to thee," etc. People know not Christ and God, "whom 
to know is life eternal," because they are ignorant of the 
gift of God, viz. : " A manifestation of the Spirit of God 
is given to every man to profit withal ; " which reveals 
Christ and God to the soul. Flesh and blood cannot do 
it, Oxford and Cambridge cannot do it, tongues and phil- 
osophy cannot do it : for they who by wisdom knew not 
God, had these things for their wisdom. They were 
strong, deep, and accurate in them ; but, alas ! they were 
clouded, puffed up, and set further off from the inward 
37 2C 



434 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

and saving knowledge of God, because they sought for it 
in them, and thought to find God there. But the key of 
David is another thing, which shuts and no man opens, 
and opens and no man shuts ; and this key have all they 
that receive the gift of God into their hearts, and it opens 
to them the knowledge of God and themselves, and gives 
them quite another sight, taste, and judgment of things 
than their educational or traditional knowledge afforded 
them. This is the beginning of the new creation of God, 
and thus it is we come to be new creatures. 

And we are bold to declare there is no other way like 
this by w^hich people can come into Christ, or be true 
Christians, or receive the advantage that comes by the 
death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where- 
fore we say, and upon good authority, even that of our 
own experience, as well as that of the Scriptures of Truth, 
Christ will prove no saving sacrifice for them who refuse 
to obey Him for their example. They that reject the gift, 
deny the Giver instead of themselves for the Giver's sake. 
Oh that people were wise, that they would consider their 
latter end, and the things that make for the peace thereof I 
Why should they perish in a vain hope of life, while death 
reigns ; of living with God, who live not to Him, nor walk 
with Him ? Awake thou that sleepest in thy sin, or at 
best in thy self-righteousness I Awake, I say, and t^hrist 
shall give thee life I For He is the Lord from heaven, the 
quickening Spirit, who quickens us by his Spirit, if we do 
not resist it and quench it by our disobedience, but receive, 
love, and obey it in all the holy leadings and teachings of 
it. Rom. viii. 14, 15. To which Holy Spirit I commend 
my reader, that he may the better see where he is, and also 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 435 

come to the true belief and advantage of the doings and 
sufferings of our dear and blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ, who saves from the power and pollution, as well as 
guilt of sin, all those who hear his knocks, and open the 
door of their hearts to Him, that He may come in and work 
a real and thorough reformation iu and for them. 

William Penn in 1691 paid a visit to Peter the Great, 
Czar of Russia. This extraordinary man took the singu- 
lar resolution of visiting several parts of Europe in person, 
for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the arts, which 
were but very imperfectly understood in his own country. 
Having resided for some time in Holland, where he worked 
in one of the dock-yards, at ship-building, he went to Eng- 
land, and engaged in a similar employment at Deptford. 

The Czar became so much interested in Friends, that 
he sometimes attended their meetings at Deptford. William 
Penn afterwards wrote him the following letter : 

" William Penn to the Czar of Muscovy. 

" It was a profound respect, and not a vain curiosity, 
great Czar, which brought me twice to wait upon thee. 
My desire was, and is, that as God Almighty has distin- 
guished thee above so many millions of thy fellow-creatures, 
so thou mayest distinguish thyself above them by an ex- 
traordinary zeal for piety and charity, which are the two 
legs the Christian religion stands upon ; and where they 
are wanting or defective, it must needs fall in the streets 
to the scorn and triumph of the heathen. May thy ex- 
ample show thee to be as good as great, that thou mayst 
bear his image by whom kings reign and princes decree 



436 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

justice, which, without goodness, power itself can never 
do. Optimus was, of old, preferred to Maximus among 
heathen princes, much more it should be among Christian 
emperors. If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for 
God ; and to do that, thou must be ruled by Him who 
has given to kings his grace to command themselves and 
their subjects, and to the people the grace to obey God 
and their kings. Know, great Czar, and take it with 
thee, as one part of the collection of knowledge thou art 
making in this unexampled travel, that 't is in this king- 
dom of England that God has visited and touched the 
hearts of a people, above forty years ago, by the holy 
light and grace of his Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ. 
By which their minds have been turned from false wor- 
ship and evil living to worship God, who is a Spirit, in 
and by his own Spirit, and be led by it in their conversa- 
tion, that they may bring forth the fruits of it among men 
to his praise that has called them. They are an inward 
and retired people, that dare not conform themselves to 
vain inventions and fashions of the world, either in re- 
ligious or civil conversation, but live and act as believing 
that God seeth them in all they do, and will judge them 
according to what they do. They teach that men must 
be holy, or they cannot be happy — that they should be 
few in words, peaceable in life, suffer Avrongs, love enemies, 
deny themselves — without which, faith is false, worship 
formality, and religion hypocrisy. Yet they are an in- 
dustrious people in their generation, and though against 
superfluity, yet lovers of ingenuity. It was in their name 
five of us came to salute thee, who wish thou mayst have 
an eye to this divine principle of life and light in the soul, 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 437 

a measure of wliicli is given to thee and all men to profit 
with. That by it piety, wisdom, and charity may dwell 
with thee, and thou mayst be qualified to serve the mighty 
God suitable to the great opportunities He hath put into 
thy hands, so prays a little iiian, but thy great friend and 
well-wisher, William Penn." 

" Seventh mo., 2, '98." 

William Penn appears to have spent much time, after 
his release from seclusion by order of King William, in 
travelling through England and Ireland in the work of the 
ministry. There was in the public mind a reaction in his 
favor and he rose higher than ever in the estimation of 
his friends. 

It is said of some of his meetings, in the Life prefacing 
his writings, '' The people flocked in abundantly, and his 
testimony to the Truth, answering to that of God in. their 
consciences, was assented to by many." 

Thos. Story speaking of the Half- Yearly Meeting at 
Dublin, says, " Great was the resort of people of all ranks 
and professions to our meetings, chiefly on account of our 
friend William Penn, who was ever furnished by the Truth 
with matter fully to answer their expectations. Many of 
the clergy were there, and the people, with one voice, spoke 
well of what they heard." 

In other places in Ireland, William Penn and the Friends 
who accompanied him had large meetings attended by 
people of all ranks. During this journey, Thomas Story 
says that some members of his own Society, ''filled with 
envy and unwisely emulating that glory and dignity the 
Lord was pleased to put upon William Penn for the ex- 
37 ->^ 



438 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

latation of his own holy name, had made very unworthy 
and unchristian attempts against his character in his 
absence, and even in the Yearly Meeting, to the great 
grief of all the right-minded among them." Again he 
says, " On the First day following we had another very 
large meeting there, and the Lord was mightily with 
William Penn that day, clothing him with majesty, holy 
zeal, and divine wisdom, to the great satisfaction of Friends 
there, even increasing that unsought praise which some 
did much grudge him, who by attempting his character 
unjustly greatly lost their own." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 439 



XXIII. 

ABOUT fifteen years had now passed away since Wil- 
liam Pcnn left his province in America. In the year 
to which we have arrived, he found his way open to re- 
turn. On his former visit, we may remember, he left his 
family behind ; but he now resolved upon taking his wife 
and children with him ; expecting in all probability to 
spend the remainder of his days in Pennsylvania. 

In the course of this year, (1699,) and probably while 
he was preparing for his American voyage, he wrote a 
valuable compendium of Christian morality, in the form 
of '' Advice to his Children," relating to their civil and 
religious conduct^ from which the following characteristic 
passages are taken. 

" I will begin with that which is the beginning of all 
true wisdom and happiness, the holy fear of God. 

'' Children, fear God ; that is to say, have an holy awe 
upon your minds to avoid that which is evil and a strict 
care to embrace and do that which is good. The measure 
and standard of which knowledge and duty is the light of 
Christ in your consciences, by which, as in John iii. 20, 21, 
3^ou may clearly see if your deeds, aye, and your words 
and thoughts, too, are wrought in God or not; for thoughts 
are the deeds of the mind for which you must be judged. 
And as you come to obey this blessed light in its hcly con- 



440 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

victions, it will lead you out of the world's dark and de- 
generate ways and works, and bring- you unto Christ's 
way and life, and to be of the number of his true, self- 
denying followers, to take up your cross for his sake, who 
bore his for yours. 

" Christ is called light because He gives man a sight of 
his sin. And He is also called the quickening Spirit. It 
is the great end, and benefit, and blessing of the coming 
of Christ, viz., the shining forth of this light and pouring 
forth of this Spirit. God sent his Son to bless us in turn- 
ing us from the evil of our ways ; therefore have a care 
of evil, for that turns you away from God ; and wherein 
you have done evil, do so no more ; but be ye turned, my 
dear children, from evil in thought, as well as in word and 
deed, or that will turn you from God your Creator, and 
Christ, whom He has given you for your Redeemer, who 
redeems and saves his people from their sins, not in their 
sins. This holy, divine principle is called grace, too. And 
why grace ? Because it is God's love and not our desert, 
his good-will, his kindness. ' He so loved the world that 
He gave his only-begotten Son into the world, that who- 
soever believcth in Him should not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life ; ' and this holy Son is declared in John i. 14, 
16 to be full of grace and truth, and that of his grace we 
receive grace for grace, that is, we receive of Him the ful- 
ness, what measure of grace we need. 

" This is that which is come by Christ, and a measure 
of this light, spirit, grace, and truth is given to every man 
and woman to see their waj^ to go by. 

" Oh, my dear children, this is the pearl of price ; part 
with all for it, but never part with it for all the world. 



OF WILLIAM PEXJ^. 441 

Yea, this is the divine and incorruptible seed of the king- 
dom, of which all truly regenerate men and women, Chris- 
tians of Christ's making, are born. Keceive it into your 
hearts, give it room. there, let it take deep root in you, and 
you will be fruitful unto God in every good word and work. 
As you take heed to it and the holy enlightenings and mo- 
tions of it, you will have a perfect discerning of the spirit 
of this world, in all its appearances in yourselves and 
others. And you will also see that the testimony unto 
which the eternal God hath brought our poor Friends, as 
to religion, worship, truth-speaking, ministry, plainness, 
simplicity, and moderation in apparel, furniture, food, 
salutation, as you may read in their writings, from the 
very beginning, is a true and heavenly testimony of his 
mind, will, work, and dispensation in this last age of the 
world to mankind, being the revival of true primitive 
Christianity ; where your most tender father prays that 
you may l)e kept, and charges you to watch that you may 
be preserved in the faith and practice of that blessed tes- 
timony ; and count it no small mercy from God and honor 
to you that you come of parents who counted nothing too 
dear or near to part with, nor too great to do or suffer, 
that they might approve themselves to God, and testify 
their love to his most precious Truth in the inward parts 
in their generation. 

" Having thus expressed myself to you, my dear chil- 
dren, as to the things of God, his Truth and kingdom, I 
refer you to his light, grace, Spirit, and Truth within you, 
and to the Holy Scriptures of Truth without you, which 
from my j^outh I loved to read, and were ever blessed to 
me, and which I charge you to read daily ; the Old Testa- 



4:42 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

mcnt for history chiefly, the Psalms for meditation and 
devotion, the prophets for comfort and hope, but especially 
the New Testament for doctrine, faith, and worship : for 
they were given forth by holy men of God in divers ages, 
as they were moved of the Holy Spirit ; and they are the 
declared and revealed mind and will of the holy God to 
mankind, under divers dispensations, and they are cer- 
tainly able to make the man of God perfect, through faith 
unto salvation, being a true and clear testimony to the 
salvation that is of God, through Christ the second Adam, 
the light of the world, the quickening Spirit, who is full 
of grace and truth. I say, having thus expressed myself 
in general, I shall now descend to particulars, that you 
may more directly apply what I have said. 

" I will begin here, also, with the beginning of time, the 
morning. So soon as you wake, retire your minds into a 
pure silence from all thoughts and ideas of worldly things, 
and in that frame wait upon God, to feel his good pres- 
ence, to lift up your hearts to Him, and commit your whole 
self into his blessed care and protection. Then rise, if 
well, immediately ; being dressed, read a chapter or more 
in the Scriptures, and afterwards dispose yourselves for 
the business of the day, ever remembering that God is 
present, the overseer of all your thoughts, words, and 
actions. As you have intervals from your lawful occa- 
sions, delight to step home, within yourselves, I mean, 
and commune with your own hearts and be still. This 
will bear you up against all temptations, and carry you 
sweetly and evenly through your day's business, support- 
ing you under disappointments, and moderating your sat- 
isfaction in success and prosperity. The evening being 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 443 

come, read again the holy Scripture, and have your tiraea 
of retirement before you close your eyes, as in the morn- 
ing, that so the Lord may be the Alpha and Omega of 
every day of your lives. And if God bless you with fam- 
ilies, remember good Joshua's resolution, ' But as for me 
and my house, we will serve the Lord.' 

*' In conversation, mark well what others say or do, and 
hide your own mind, at least till last. A just observance 
and reflection upon men and things give wisdom ; these 
are the great books of learning seldom read. Interrupt 
none, anticipate none : ' Be quick to hear, slow to speak.' 
Affect not words, but matter, and chiefly to be pertinent 
and plain. ^ Truest eloquence is plainest, and brief speak- 
ing is the best. Return no answer to anger, unless with 
much meekness, which often turus it away, but rarely 
make replies, less rejoinders, for these add fuel to the fire. 
It is a wrong time to vindicate yourselves, the true ear 
being then never open to hear it. 

" Have but few books, but let them be well chosen and 
well read, whether of religious or civil subjects. Shun 
fantastic opinions ; measure both religion and learning by 
practice. Beading yourselves and nature, in the dealings 
and conduct of men, is the truest human wisdom. The 
spirit of a man knows the things of man, and more true 
knowledge comes by meditation and just reflection than 
by reading. 

" Keep close to the meetings of God's people ; and wait 
diligently at them, to feel the heavenly life in your hearts, 
Look for that more than words in ministry, and you will 
profit most. Above all, look to the Lord, but. despise not 



444 PASSAGES FROlvI THE LIFE 

iastruments, man or womail, young or old, rich or poor, 
learned or unlearned. 

'' Avoid discontented persons, unless to inform or re- 
prove them. Abhor detraction, the sin of fallen angels, 
and the worst of fallen men. Excuse faults in others, 
own them in yourselves, and forgive them against your- 
selves, as you would have your heavenly Father and 
Judge forgive you. 

" Love one another. Live as near as you can, visit 
often, correspond oftener, and communicate with kind 
hearts to one another, in proportion to what the Lord 
gives you ; and do not be close, nor hoard up from one 
another as if you had no right or claim in one another, 
and did not descend of one most tender father and mother. 
What I write is to yours, as well as you, if God gives you 
children. And in case a prodigal should ever appear 
among them, make not his folly an excuse to be strange 
or close, and so to expose such an one to more evil. 

"Love silence, even in the mind; for thoughts are to 
that, as words to the body, troublesome ; much speaking, 
as much thinking, spends, and in many thoughts, as well 
as words, there is sin. True silence is the rest of the 
mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, 
nourishment and refreshment. 

" Meddle not with government ; never speak of it, let 
others say or do as they please. But read such books of 
law as relate to the office of a justice, a coroner, sheriff, 
and constable ; also the doctor and student ; some book 
of clerkship, and a treatise of wills, to enable you about 
your own private business only, or a poor neighbor's. 
•For it is a charge I leave with you and yours, meddle not 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 44:5 

with the public, neither business jior money ; but under, 
stand how to avoid it, and defend yourselves, upon occa- 
sion, against it. For much knowledge brings sorrow, and 
much doing more. Therefore, know God, know your- 
selves ; love home, know your own business and mind 
it, and you have more time and peace than your neigh- 
bors. 

"If you incline to marry, then marry your inclination 
rather than your interest; I mean what you love, rather 
than what is rich. But love for virtue, temper, education, 
and person, before wealth or quality, and be sure you are 
beloved again. In all which, be not hasty, but serious ; 
lay it before the Lord, proceed in his fear, and be you well 
advised. Seek the Lord for one another ; wait upon Him 
together, morning and evening, in his holy fear, which 
will renew and confirm your love and covenant ; give 
way to nothing that would in the least violate it ; use all 
means of true endearment, that you may recommend and 
please one another ; remembering that your relation and 
union is the figure of Christ's to his church ; therefore, 
let the authority of love only bear sway your whole life. 

"If God give you children, love them with wisdom, 
correct them with affection. Punish them more by their 
understandings than the rod, and show them the folly, 
shame, and undutifulness of their faults rather with a 
grieved than an angry countenance, and you will sooner 
affect their natures, and with a nobler sense, than a servile 
and rude chastisement can produce. Breed your children 
yourselves ; I mean as to their morals, and be their bishops 
and teachers in the principles of conversation ; as they 
are instructed, so they are likely to be qualified, and your 
38 



446 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

posterity by the precepts and examples which they receive 
from yours. 

''Distrust is of the nature of jealousy, and must be 
warily entertained upon good grounds. Yet I have often 
been whispered to in myself of persons and things, at first 
sight and motion, that hardly ever failed to be true ; though 
by neglecting the sense, or suffering myself to be argued 
or importuned from it, I have more than once failed ofjnj 
expectation. Have therefore a most tender and nice re- 
gard to those first and unpremeditated sensations. 

"Be humble: it becomes a creature that lives not of 
itself, but breathes in another's air with another's breath, 
and is accountable for every moment of time, and can call 
nothing its own, but is absolutely a tenant at will of the 
great Lord of heaven and earth. The fear and love of God 
beget humility, and humility fits you for God and men. 
You cannot step well amiss, if this virtue dwell richly in 
you ; for then God will teach you. The humble He teach- 
eth his ways, and they are all pleasant and peaceable to 
his children. 

"From humility springs meekness. It seems to be hu- 
mility perfectly digested, and from a virtue become a na- 
ture. A meek man is one that is not easily provoked, yet 
easily grieved ; not peevish or testy, but soft, gentle, and 
inoffensive. Oh, blessed will you be, my dear children, if 
this grace adorn you ! 

" Patience is an effect of a meek spirit and flows from 
it. Patience inquires, deliberates, and brings to a mature 
judgment. Through your civil as well as Christian course, 
you cannot act wisely and safely without it. 

"Show mercy whenever it is in your power, that is, for- 



OF WILLIAM PENI^. 447 

giv(;, pity, and help, for so it signifies. Mercy is one of 
the attributes of Gocl. It is exalted in Scripture above 
all his works, and is a noble part of his image in man. 
Wherefore, I charge you, oppress no body, man or beast. 
Take no advantage upon the unhappy, pity the afflicted, 
make their case your own, and that of their wives and 
poor innocent children the condition of yours, and you 
cannot want sympathy, forgiveness, nor a disposition to 
help and succor them to your ability. 

"Avoid that great sin of needless expense on your per- 
sons and on your houses, while the poor are hungry and 
naked. Let the moving passage. Matt. xxv. 35 to the end, 
live in your minds : ' I was hungry and thirsty, and naked, 
sick and in prison, and you administered unto me, and the 
blessing that followed:' also what He said to another sort, 
'I was hungry and thirsty, and naked, and sick, and in 
prison, and you administered not unto me ;' for a dreadful 
sentence follows to the hard-hearted world. 

" Liberality or bounty is a noble quality in man, enter- 
tained of few, yet praised of all. Wheresoever, therefore, 
my dear children, liberality is required of you, God en- 
abling you, sow not sparingly nor grudgingly, but with a 
cheerful mind, and you shall not go without your reward; 
though that ought not to be your motive. But avoid os- 
tentation, for that is using virtue to vanity, which will run 
you to profuseness, and that to want ; which begets greed- 
iness, and that avarice, the contrary extreme. As men 
may go westward till they come east, and travel till they 
and those they left behind them stand antipodes, up and 
down. 

"Justice or righteousness is another attribute of God, of 



448 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

targe extent in the life and duty of man. Be just there- 
fore in all things to all. To God as your Creator, render 
to Him that which is his, your heart, for that acknowledg- 
ment He has reserved to himself, by which only you are 
entitled to the comforts of this and a better life. And 
if He has your hearts, you have Him for your treasure, 
and with Him all things requisite to your felicity. Ken- 
der also to Caesar that which is his, lawful subjection ; not 
for fear only, but conscience' sake. To parents, a filial love 
and obedience. To one another, natural affection. To 
all people, .in doing as you would be done by. Hurt no 
man's name or person. Covet no man's property in any 
sort. 

" I have said but little to you of distributing justice," or 
being just in power or government, for I should desire 
you may never be concerned therein, unless it were upon 
your own principles, and then the less the better, unless 
God require it from you. But if it ever be your lot, know 
no man after the flesh ; know neither rich nor poor, great 
nor small, nor kindred, nor stranger ; but judge the cause 
according to your understanding and conscience, and that 
upon deliberate inquiry and information. 

" Integrity is a great and commendable virtue. A man 
of integrity is a true man, a bold man, and a steady man. 
He shines brightest in the fire, and his friend hears of him 
most when he most needs him. He runs with truth, and 
not with the times ; with right, and not with might. 

" Gratitude or thankfulness is another virtue of great 
lustre, and so esteemed with God and all good men. It is 
indeed a noble sort of justice, and might, in a sense, be re- 
ferred as a branch to that head, with this difference, that 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 44:9 

since benefits exceed justice, the tie is very strong to be 
grateful, and consequently there is something exceedingly 
base and reproachful in ingratitude. It is an evangelical 
virtue, and works as faith does, only by love. In this it 
exactly resembles a Christian state. ' We are not under 
the law, but under grace,' and it is by grace and not by 
merit 'that we are saved.' But are our obligations the 
less to God, that he heaps his favors so undeservedly upon 
us ? Surely no. 

" Diligence is another virtue useful and laudable among 
men. It belongs to you, throughout your whole man; 
be no more sauntering in your minds than in your bodies. 
Shun diversions, think only of the present business till 
that be done. Be busy to purpose, for a busy man and a 
man of business are two different things. Consider your 
end well, suit your means to it, and then diligently em- 
ploy them, and you arrive where you would be, withr 
God's blessing. Temperance I must earnestly recom- 
mend to you. throughout the whole course of your 
life; it is numbered amongst the fruits of the Spirit. 
That which keeps the body low makes the spirit 
clear, as silence makes it strong. As in diet so in ap- 
parel, observe, I charge you, an exemplary plainness. 
Choose your clothes for their usefulness not the fashion, 
and for covering and not finery, or to please a vain mind 
in yourselves or others. They are fallen souls that think 
clothes can give beauty to man. Bound your desires, 
learn your wills subjection, take Christ for your example 
as well as guide. It was He who led and taught a life of 
faith in Providence, and told his disciples the danger of 
the cares and pleasures of this world. His sermon upon 
3S ^ 2D 



450 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

the mount is one continued Divine authority in favor of 
universal temperance. 

" I will close with this one most comprehensive passage 
of the apostle, ' Let your moderation be known unto all 
men, for the Lord is at hand.' Let this excellent, this 
home and close sentence live in your minds : let it ever 
dwell upon your spirits, my beloved children, and influence 
all your actions, aye, your affections and thoughts. It is 
a 'Qoble measure, sufficient to regulate the whole. They 
that have it are easy as well as safe. No extreme pre- 
vails; the world is kept at arm's end, and such have 
power over their own spirits, which gives them the truest 
enjoyment of themselves and what they have." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 451 



XXIV. 

As the object of this work is to give an account of the 
life and religious labors of William Penn rather than 
the history of his province, but little mention has been 
made of the events which occurred there during his 
absence. Some notice of these will now be in place. 

After the recall of Governor Black well, in the Twelfth 
month, 1689, the charge of the government again devolved 
upon Thomas Lloyd, who, although a man of excellent 
abilities and unquestionable integrity, does not appear to 
have possessed either the talents or the influence of William 
Penn. ^ Difficulties and jealousies arose among the mem- 
bers of the government. The representatives from the 
province and those from the territories or three lower 
counties, being supposed to have separate interests to 
promote, could not cordially unite. The proprietary had 
taken abundance of pains to form an intimate connection 
between the province and territories, both in the legisla- 
tive and executive capacities. But the members from the 
territories, seeing themselves likely to be outnumbered by 
those from the province, and consequently thrown into the 
minority upon all questions in which their separate interests 
were involved, demanded concessions for their security, 
which were considered unreasonable, and consequently 
refused. These jealousies at length, in the early part of 
1691, rose to such a height as to occasion a rupture be- 



452 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

tween them, which resulted in the establishmcsnt of two 
separate governments. To this separation William Penn 
gave a very reluctant assent. It may fairly be consid* 
ered as a consequence of his absence, for we find that he 
retained the confidence and affection of both parties. He 
had penetration enough to discover the ill consequences 
likely to result both to his interest and theirs from these 
animosities. The unpleasant news reached him soon after 
the commencement of his troubles arising from the accu- 
sation of Fuller. He did not fail to apprise his friends in 
America of his apprehensions on their account, and to 
urge upon them the necessity of cultivating a better 
temper ; but the people of the territories appear to have 
been too jealous of their rights and too tenacious of their 
opinions to be diverted from their purpose by his influence 
or authority while residing on the other side of the At- 
lantic. 

In 1691 the province of Pennsylvania was agitated in 
a manner which must have caused greater pain to the sen- 
sitive mind of William Penn than the dissensions between 
the province and territories. The latter arose from ques- 
tions of worldly interest ; but the new disturbance arose 
in the bosom of his own Society. George Keith, who for 
between twenty and thirty years had been an approved 
member and minister in the Society, became about that 
time a subject of much concern to his friends. He began 
to differ with them on points of discipline, proposing alter- 
ations which Friends were not free to adopt. Finding his 
influence in the Society less than he seems to have sup- 
posed due to his talents and service, he gave way to a 
captious and acrimonious spirit. He began to qucs'tion 



OF WILLIAM PEKN. 453 

the soundness of the ministers on some doctrinal points, 
and falling under the government of his passions rather 
than his understanding, indulged in harsh and vituperative 
language towards Friends of the fairest character. 

This opposition to Friends was not confined to questions 
of doctrine or discipline, but extended to the measures of 
civil government. A large part of the original settlers in 
Pennsylvania being of the same religious profession with 
the founder, many of the executive and judicial offices were 
exercised by members of this Society. George Keith 
indulged his spleen by representing the conduct of these 
Friends in bringing robbers to justice as a violation of 
their peace principles. His opposition to the measures 
and officers of the government rendered him at length an 
object of judicial inquiry. He and another were presented 
by the grand jury of Philadelphia as the authors of a 
defamatory publication ; for which, on conviction, they 
were fined five pounds each, but the fines were not levied. 

News of the disturbances occasioned by him and his 
party were soon carried to the mother country ; and those 
who were inimical to Friends, the province, or the propri- 
etary took care to circulate them with the usual exaggera- 
tions. The account of his trial was circulated with such 
coloring as to give it the appearance of a religious perse- 
cution. It was industriously reported at court, Westmin- 
ster Hall, and the Parliament house, and excited much 
odium against William, Penn and the Society of Friends. 
It was laid hold of as an evidence of their unfitness for 
the exercise of political power, and William Penn himself 
does not appear to have approved of this prosecution. The 
magistrates published a declaration exculpating themselves 



454 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

from the charge of religious persecution, showing that they 
had not proceeded against George Keith and his adherents 
without ample provocation, and giving an opinion that such 
conduct, if not restrained, tended to sedition and the sub- 
version of the existing government. 

Although Ring William seemed to have entertained a 
friendship for William Penn, yet the general complexion 
of his court was averse to the adherents of James ; and 
this aversion to the political friends of the exiled monarch 
would naturally extend to his personal friends also, of 
which number William Penn was avowedly one. This 
circumstance, together with the exaggerated reports which 
were circulated respecting the disorders and maladminis- 
tration existing in the province and territories, prevailed 
wath the king and council to adopt the resolution of depriv- 
ing William Penn of his authority there. In pursuance 
of this resolution, a commission was issued, bearing date 
the 21st of October, 1692, to Benjamin Fletcher, Governor 
of New York, authorizing him to assume the government 
of Pennsylvania and the territories thereto belonging. 
This, as far as can be ascertained, was a simple act of 
power, without even the color of law or legal procedure. 
In the commission no notice was taken of William Penn 
or the charter of Charles 11. 

The commission of Governor Fletcher was not received 
by him until the spring of the following year, at which 
time he notified Thomas Lloyd of his appointment, and 
soon afterwards repaired to Philadelphia to engage in the 
concerns of his new government. Official information of 
the change was not given to the constituted authorities of 
Pennsylvania by the king yet upon the arrival of Colonel 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 455 

Fletcher the government was surrendered to him without 
opposition ; but Friends who held the offices of magistrates 
generally refused to accept from him the renewal of their 
commissions. It is not probable that the government at 
home gave William Penn notice of their proceedings, and 
he was probably ignorant of them till the information 
reached him from the western side of the Atlantic. 

The administration of Governor Fletcher was not 
marked by any event of such permanent interest as to 
demand particular recital. He appears to have been, or 
at least to have become, convinced that the exclusion of 
William Penn from the government was an unjust assump- 
tion of power, and that his own exercise of that authority 
was likely to be of very short duration. 

In the Twelfth month, 1694, William Penn wrote to 
Robert Turner at Philadelphia: 

*' I do beseech thee by our ancient acquaintance, by thy 
gravity and age in the truth, thy love for the poor country, 
and, above all, for the truth's sake, to be the means of a 
better understanding among you thereaway, both as to 
church and state. The more I hear of your animosities, 
the sad effects of them upon the place, the contempt it 
brings upon the country, and the irreparable injury it is 
to me and my poor children, yea, upon yourselves and 
posterity, methinks should prevail. I can say no more, 
only my love to thee and thine and son and daughter, and 
entreat George Keith, with my love, by the same motives, 
in my name, to the same end and purpose ; and God Al- 
mighty modify and dispose all hearts to the ancient, ten- 
der, b'essed unity, that his peace may be with you, and 



'156 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

your enemies may not, as now they do, triumph over you 
all and the holy profession you make. I am the more 
earnest with you because I am thought by several to have 
too much encourag-ed your George Keith, etc., by my let- 
ters. I am for patience, forbearance, long-suffering, and 
all true moderation ; but I abhor contention, doubtful dis- 
putations, divisions, etc. Oh, that the Spirit of God may 
rule and overrule our spirits, or all we have to say for God 
can never glorify Him ; it is his own that praise and serve 
Him. I could wish my own concerns there were in a 
better way, but of that no more now. I yet hope in the 
Lord to see you again, and that not long first. Farewell 
" Thy real, well-wishing friend, 

William Penn." 

In the year 1694 William Penn was restored to the 
government, of which he had been unjustly divested, by 
letters-patent, dated the 20th of August. In this docu- 
ment the disorders assigned as the cause of the royal as- 
sumption of authority there are attributed to the absence 
of the proprietor. An intimation, at least, is given that 
his prudence and authority, if present, would have pre- 
vented the disorders complained of. 

Thomas Lloyd, who was during several years the dep- 
uty of William Penn in the government of Pennsylvania, 
having died in the Seventh month, 1G94, the appointment, 
upon William Penn's restoration, was conferred upon Wil- 
liam Markham, who held it till the arrival of the Gov- 
ernor himself in 1699. Little remarkable seems to have 
occurred \inder his administration to attract the historian's 
notice. 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 457 

The following passages are from a letter from William 
Penn to Friends in Pennsylvania : 

" Bristol, 24tli of Nintli month, 1694. 

" Dear Friends and Brethren : — My ancient love 
without reserve salutes and embraces you in the sense of 
that which has been the root of our fellowship, and of all 
God's people since the world began, in which the Lord 
preserve us to the end. 

" By this you will understand that by the good provi- 
dence of God I am restored to my former administration 
of government, which I hope will be some relief and com- 
fort to you that have been exercised by the late interrup- 
tion upon us. That things are not just now put into that 
posture as you may reasonably desire you must not take 
amiss, for neither will the straitness of the times nor the 
circumstances we are under to the lords of the plantations 
permit another method at this time. And as soon as I 
can make my way to that which is as much my inclination 
as yours (and which I hope to do in a short time), depend 
upon it I shall do my utmost to make you entirely easy. 
Accept this part of the goodness of God and wait for the 
rest. 

" We must creep where we cannot go ; and it is as nec- 
essary for us, in the things of this life, to be wise as to be 
innocent. A word to the wise is enough. My return will, 
I hope, put an end to all our civil griefs, which at least I 
long for, not for any worldly advantage, but to discharge a 
conscience to God and to you, and I hope that shall singly 
be the mark and rule of the remainder of my life, both 
in this and all other things that may attend it. 
39 



458 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

" You know, I believe, as well as I, what has been a 
main obstacle and is still, of which S. J. can be more 
particular, to whom I have opened myself that he may do 
so to you, and whose integrity, I think, ought, with reason, 
to be unquestionable to us both. I cannot tell you here 
through what difficulties we are come where we are, and I 
hope you will be sensible of it, and from thence satisfied, 
if not pleased. Pray be careful that the charter be strictly 
observed, and vice and impiety diligently suppressed." 

In the Sixth month, 1699, William Penn, with his wife 
and family, embarked for Pennsylvania in the ship Canter- 
bury ; and from on board, while lying at the Isle of Wight, 
he addressed a farewell epistle to his friends wherever scat- 
tered in England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Germany, or 
other parts of Europe, of which the following is part: 

''And now, my dear friends, whom I know and love, 
and you also whom I truly love, though I do not know 
personally, since it has pleased the good and all-wise God 
to order my course from you, so that I cannot visit you, as 
I have often desired before I left you, this therefore is to be 
my brotherly farewell unto you. And surely my soul is 
bowed in humble petitions to Israel's God, the true and liv- 
ing and powerful God, that it may be well with you all here 
and forever. Though God has appeared to us, and given us 
many and undeniable testimonies that it was He, and not an- 
other, who reached our hearts, and touched our consciences, 
and brought us to confession, yea, and forsaking, too, of that 
which offended Him, in great measure, blessed be his name, 
vet we are not to stop, or take up our rest here ; we must 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 459 

watch still, pray still, fight still, that good fight of faith, till 
we have overcome the enemy of our souls. And even then 
must we watch and pray, and that to the end of our days; 
that w^e may not lose that crown of glory which God, the 
righteous judge, shall give to all those that love his appear- 
ance, overcome, and persevere to the end. For be assured 
we shall reap if w^e faint not; but w^e shall faint, if we wait 
not upon God, who alone is the strength of his people. 

'' God is not wanting : He w^ho long stood at the door of 
our hearts, under our impenitency in times past, till his 
locks were wet with- the dew, and his hair with the drops 
of the night, till w^e were wakened out of our carnal secur- 
ity, and came to judgment in ourselves, unto unfeigned 
repentance, to be sure He is not weary of waiting to be 
gracious now^ to his poor people ; especially if they are poor 
in spirit, and hungering and thirsting after righteousness. 

'' And though Balaams there are, who may be hired by 
the Balaks of our age, to curse our Israel-family of God, 
who know^s but even some of these may yet live to say, 
before they die, ' How goodly are thy tents, Jacob ! ' 
* How pleasant is thy dwelling-place, Israel I ' But then, 
friends, we must keep our tents, we must be a retired and 
a peculiar people, and dwell alone. We must keep above 
the world, and clear of the spirit of it, and those many 
trifles, cares, and troubles that abound in it. 

'' It is in Christ ye have peace, in the w^orld is the trouble ; 
keep therefore in Him who has called himself, and we have 
found Him so, the way, Truth, and life ; and you shall 
live, because He lives : He the root, you the branches, by 
whom yo'i w^ill be kept green and fruitful, bringing forth 
the fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit in all your con- 



460 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

verse and commerce, that it may be seen and said, God 
is with you and amongst you. Oh, let humility, charity, 
meekness, and self-denial shine amongst you I so will you 
come to sit, as did the primitive Christians, in heavenly 
places in Christ Jesus, and be preserved through the 
noise, snares, and hurry of this present evil world. 

''But the condition of some, who pretend to follow 
Christ, yet are afar off, affects my spirit. 

" Oh I my dear friends, let me prevail with you, in this 
my farewell to you, to turn your minds inward, and wait 
to feel your Redeemer, and meet Him in the way of his 
righteous judgments; for there is no redemption but 
through judgment, nor conversion but through righteous- 
ness. Come and be baptized by Christ: He will baptize 
you with his fire and Holy Ghost. So will you come to 
find your interest in Christ, as you feel his workmanship 
and interest in and over you. And as you thus come to 
be related to Christ, the heavenly Head, by knowing Him 
to be head in you, so will you come to be related to his 
body, the church, and see your proper membership and 
service therein ; which I pray God effect, to his glory and 
your comfort. 

"And now to the whole family and flock of God, in this 
European part of the world, of the same communion, 
according to the dispensation of God, be they high or low, 
young or old, rich or poor, wise or simple, strong or weak, 
male or female, bond or free, I send this parting salutation, 
of my most dear love in the Truth ; beseeching you all to 
have me and mine in your remembrance, not only when 
upon the mighty waters, but when in the solitary deserts 
of America, if it please the Lord to bring us safe thither. 



OF WILLIAM PENX. 461 

'■' I must leave you, but I can never forget you ; and 
suffer me to say that, to my power, I have from the first 
endeavored to serve you and my poor country too, and 
that at my own charges, with an upright mind, however 
misunderstood and treated by some whom I heartily for- 
give. Accept you my services, and ever love and remem- 
ber, my dear friends and brethren, your old, true, and 
affectionate friend, brother and servant, in Christ Jesus, 

William Penn." 

The certificate which he bore from Friends at home is 
as follows : 

"From our Monthly Meeting held at Horsham, Old England, 

14th of Fifth month, 1699. 

" To the churches of Christ in Pennsylvania, and to all 
the faithful Friends and brethren unto whom this may 
come. In the covenant of life and fellowship of the gos- 
pel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the unity of the one 
Eternal Spirit of our God, we dearly salute you ; most 
earnestly desiring your everlasting prosperity in the 
blessed Truth. 

" Now, dear Friends and brethren, whereas our worthy 
friend and elder, William Penn, did acquaint our Monthly 
Men's Meeting with his intended voyage into his province 
of Pennsylvania, and although we are right sensible that 
he needeth no letter of recommendation from us to pass 
into his own country, yet, at his request, and for the good 
order's sake that God hath established in his church and 
amongst his people, and for the sincere love we bear to 
our well-esteemed friend, we could do no less than give 
this small token of our unity and communion with him, 
39* 



4:62 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

as a testimony for Mm and his service in the church of 
Christ ; wherein he hath been a worthy and blessed in- 
strument in the hand of the Lord, both in his ministry 
and conversation, and hath always sought the prosperity 
of the blessed truth, and peace and concord in the church 
of Christ; and hath walked amongst us in all humility, 
godly sincerity, and true brotherly love, to' our great re- 
freshment and comfort. Who hath, with much labor and 
great travail, on all occasions endeavored the defence of 
truth against its opposers, and the preservation of true 
unity and good order in the church of Christ. So, in the 
unity of the one Eternal Spirit, which is the bond of true 
peace, we take our leave of him with earnest breathings 
and supplications to the great God, whom the winds and 
seas obey, that He would mercifully be pleased to go along 
with him, and conduct him by the angel of his divine pres- 
ence to his desired port, and preserve him to the end of 
his days, and in the end that he may receive an immortal 
crown, and be bound up in the bundle of life amongst 
them that have turned many to righteousness, who shine 
as the sun in the firmament of God's eternal power, for- 
ever and ever, amen." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 463 



XXV. 

THE Canterbury was three months on the voyage to 
Philadelphia. James Logan, in a letter to William 
Penn, Jr., the only surviving son of Gulielma Penn, gives 
an account of his father's reception. James Logan was 
William Penn's secretary as well as steadfast friend and 
wise counsellor. He was a high-toned gentleman, too 
unbending in his integrity to be universally popular. He 
had a fine mind, and was devoted to literary and scien- 
tific tastes and pursuits. He became Secretary of the 
Province, for some time President of the Council, and 
afterwards Chief Justice. 

David Lloyd, who is referred to in the letter, was a 
Friend, a man of ability as a lawyer, of good private 
character, but a persistent disturber of the peace in the 
councils of the province, and, as the professed upholder of 
popular rights, was an unscrupulous leader of weaker 
minds in opposition to the proprietary and the best 
measures of the government. 

Colonel Quarry was a member of the Church of Eng- 
land, the admiralty judge appointed by the Crown, and 
therefore independent of the proprietary. He was his 
pertinacious opponent for a long time. He disliked his 
views in regard to war, the use of oaths, and the position 
in Pennsylvania of the Established Church of England, 
and, as a leading member of a party which sympathized 



464 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

with him, gave great annoyance to William Penn and his 
friends. 

James Logan to William Penn, Jr. 

" Philadelphia, Seventh month, 25th, 1700. 

*' The highest terms I could use would hardly give you 
an idea of the expectation and welcome that thy father 
received from the most of the honester party here. Friends 
generally concluded that after all their troubles and disap- 
pointments, this province now scarce wanted anything 
more to render it completely happy. The faction that 
had long contended to overthrow the settled constitution 
of the government received an universal damp, yet endeav- 
ored what mischief they could by speaking whispers, that 
the proprietary could not act as governor without the 
king's approbation, and taking an oath as obliged by act 
of Parliament; but that in a great measure soon blew 
over. Colonel Quarry, judg^, and John Moore, advocate 
of the admiralty, the two ringleaders, went down to the 
water-side among the crowd to receive the Governor at 
his landing, who not seeming to regard the very submis- 
sive welcome they gave him, and taking notice of an old 
acquaintance that stood by them, expected nothing but 
almost as open hostility from the proprietary as they were 
at before with Colonel Markham, especially having heard 
that copies of Colonel Quarry's letters to the admiralty at 
home against the Governor were also brought over. 

"Directly from the wharf the Governor went to his 
deputy's, paid him a short formal visit, and from thence, 
with a crowd attending, to meeting, it being about three 
o'clock on First-day afternoon, where he spoke on a doable 



OF WILLIAM PENN. • 465 

account to the people, and praying, concluded it ; from 
thence to Edward Shippen's, where we lodged for about a 
• month. 

" For two or three days the Governor seemed to admire 
at Colonel Quarry's distance, and perceiving that he was 
not like to come pay a civil visit as might be expected, 
sent me to him with an inviting compliment, with which 
he presently complied, and entered into a very familiar 
conversation with the Governor, who endeavored to make 
it appear that he would treat all parties with equal civility 
and regard in this province that were not directly injurious 
to him ; confessed he believed there was occasion given for 
the complaint that went home ; blamed the mal-adminis- 
tration of affairs in some particulars relative to the king, 
and resolved to have a hearing of the whole matter before 
himself and council. The two persons chiefly struck at by 
Quarr}^ was the Lieutenant-Governor, and David Lloyd, 
Attorney- General; a man very stiff in all his undertak- 
ings, of a sound judgment and a good lawyer, but ex- 
tremely pertinacious and somewhat revengeful. He, at 
that time, was one of the council, and those mighty wrongs 
that had been put on the king coming to be debated there, 
David resolutely defended all that had been done, and too 
highly opposed the Governor's resolution of composing all 
by mildness and moderation, and reconciling all animosi- 
ties by his own intervention, which he thought the only 
advisable expedient to put an end to those differences that 
had cost him so much trouble. This soon created some 
small misunderstanding. Several of the most noted 
Friends were involved more or less in David's business, 
and though troubled at his stiffness, yet wished him in 

2E 



4:6Q PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

the right, because the most active enemy and assiduous 
counsellor against the other party, who on all occasions 
would be glad, they thought, of their utter ruin. His 
obstinacy the Governor could by no means brook ; he 
could not but think there was more deference and consid- 
eration due to his character and station. The other knew 
not what it was to bend, he was engaged in the cause, 
and would stand or fall by it, offering to plead it at West- 
minster Hall. But the Governor, who was most sensible 
of the pulse of the court and affairs in general at home, 
knew this course would never take, and therefore was 
sometimes warm enough to inveigh highly against past 
proceedings, not sparing several in express words that 
were concerned in them, and laying open in large dis- 
course what would be the consequence if they took not 
some more effectual ways to satisfy superiors at home, 
who, perhaps, would be very well pleased with any occa- 
sion, by whatsoever hand administered^ to wrench the 
government out of the proprietor's hands and throw it 
on the king. 

" Friends' love to the Governor was great and sincere ; 
they had long mourned for his absence and passionately 
desired his return. He, they firmly believed, Avould com- 
pose all their difficulties and repair all that was amiss." 

At a meeting of the council, William Penn said to them : 

" Friends : — Though this be a colony of nineteen years' 
standing, and not inferior to any of its age and establish- 
ing, yet we have much to do to make a free constitution 
and the courts of justice therein. There are in it some 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 467 

laws which may be accounted obsolete, others hurtful, 
others imperfect, that will need improvement ; and it will 
be requisite to make some new ones. We cannot go too 
slowly to make them, nor too fast to execute them when 
made, and that with diligence and discretion. You, 
friends, are the people's choice and my council. You will 
see what laws are fit to be left out, and what are fit to be 
made ; and you, with me, are to prepare and propose them. 
I say this the rather, because of a false notion some have 
got, that because you are my council, therefore you are 
not the people's representatives. The ablest men have 
always been chosen to be of the council to prepare the 
laws, and the assembly are to consent to them. Though 
two bodies, yet are we but one power — the one prepares, 
the other consents. Friends, if in the constitution by 
charter there be anything that jars, alter it. If you want 
a law for this or that, prepare it; I advise you not to 
trifle with government; I wish there were no need of 
any ; but since crimes prevail, government is made neces- 
sary by man's degeneracy. Government is not an end, 
but a means ; he who thinks it to be an end, aims at 
profit, to make a trade of it ; but he who thinks it to be 
a means, understands the true end of government. Friends, 
away with all parties, and look on yourselves, and on what 
is good for all as a body politic ; first as under the king 
and crown of England ; and next as under me by letters- 
patent from that crown. Study peace and be at unity. 
Provide for the good of all ; and I desire to see mine no 
otherwise than in the public's prosperit}^. The last as- 
sembly made two laws against piracy and forbidden trade. 
I hear they have not sat easy on the books of some ; but 



468 PASSAGES FHOM THE LIFE 

I hope we having- therein been careful, we shall have 
thanks for making them before we had orders so to do ; 
and after so many calumnies and complaints we have been 
loaded with, I hope those two laws will in some degree 
wash us clean. What concerns myself I also leave it with 
you to consider. I hav-^^ been now nineteen years your 
proprietor and governor, and have at my charge main- 
tained my deputy, whereby I have much worsted myself 
and estate. I hope it will be no wonder to any here to 
hear me make this mention of it." 

After the separation of the legislature, "William Penn 
retired to his mansion at Pennsbury, the usual place of 
his residence. 

This estate was situated above Bristol, on the river 
Delaware. It comprised six thousand 'acres of land, 
mostly covered with forests, ten acres • only being" cleared 
at this time. 

" The mansion-house was seated on a moderate emi- 
nence. A broad walk through an avenue of poplars led 
to the river, descending from the upper terrace to the 
lower grounds by a flight of steps. The house was sur- 
rounded by gardens and lawns, and the more distant woods 
w^cre opened in vistas looking down the river and upward 
to the falls. These woods had been laid out in walks, at 
the proprietary's first visit, and the preservation of the 
trees is enjoined in several of his letters. 

" The proprietor sent out from England Vt^alnuts, haw- 
thorns, hazels, fruit-trees, and a great variety of the rarest 
seeds and roots; while in this country (as we learn from 
his cash-book) he procured from Maryland several panniers 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 469 

of trees and shrubs, indigenous in that province, and he 
directed by his letters that the most beautiful wild-flowers 
should be transplanted into his gardens." 

The affairs of the government niust have occupied great 
part of his care and attention, for many things had got 
out of order. But there were two subjects which particu- 
larly claimed his consideration ; viz., the instruction and 
civilization of the Indians ; and the improvement of the 
negroes. He had devoted considerable attention to the 
former while in America before, and during his absence 
the subject does not appear to have been entirely neglected. 

At the Monthly Meeting of Philadelphia, which oc- 
curred in the First month, 1*700, William Penn o\}ened 
his concern, which he informed them had long engaged 
bis mind, for the benefit and welfare of the Indians and 
negroes ; pressingly exhorting Friends to discharge their 
duty to those people ; more particularly in relation to the 
improvement of their minds. Advising that they should, 
as frequently as possible, enjoy the advantage of attend- 
ing religious meetings, and receiving instruction in the 
principles of the Christian religion. In consequence 
of this communication, a meeting was appointed particu- 
larly for the negroes, to be held once a month. Measures 
were also adopted for having meetings more frequently 
with the Indians, William Penn taking upon himself the 
charge of regulating the manner, and procuring inter- 
preters. 

It has been mentioned that the three lower counties, in 

1691, separated from the province, and that William Penn, 

then in retirement on account of the accusations of Fuller, 

was induced to give a reluctant assent to this separation 

40 



470 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

When the government of the province and territories was 
conferred upon Colonel Fletcher, he reunited them, ap» 
parentlj without consulting their choice on the subject. 
The legislative assembly, thus composed of members from 
the province and territories, was convened at Philadelphia 
in the Third month, lYOO. In the commencement of the 
session, William Penn sent them information, that as he 
understood they were not satisfied with the charter which 
was granted by his deputy in 1696, he was prepared to 
offer them another. This information was given at the 
opening of the session, for the double purpose of proving 
his readiness to oblige them, and of giving time to con- 
sider the subject deliberately. 

His next object was to secure, by legislative enactments, 
the improvement in the condition and treatment of the 
negroes and Indians in the province ; which he had pre- 
viously labored to effect within the limits of his own 
religious Society. In pursuance of this object, he pre- 
sented soon afterwards a bill for regulating the morals 
and marriages of the negroes, and another for the regu- 
lation of their trials and punishment, substituting the 
judgment of the law for the will of the master. A third 
was also laid before the assembly, for preventing abuses 
upon the Indians. Of these bills he had the mortification 
to find the first and last rejected, the reasons for which 
are not transmitted to us in the history of the time. What 
portion of the members of the assembly belonged to the 
Society of Friends is uncertain ; but the council of the 
Governor, consisting altogether of Friends, had united 
with him in proposing these bills, and the Monthly Meet- 
ing of Philadelphia had sanctioned the principle of them. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 471 

Hence we may very rationally conclude that this rejection 
was the efifect of an influence extraneous to his own So- 
ciety. The assembly after a short session was dissolved 
by the Governor. 

When William Penn was released from his attendance 
on the legislature, he took the opportunity of renewing 
his friendly intercourse with the Indians. For this pur- 
pose he visited them in the forests, and received them in 
return at his mansion at Pennsbury. 

Another legislative assembly was convoked in the 
autumn of the same year, 1700, to meet at Newcastle. 
One of the objects to which their attention was called by 
the Governor, was the adjustment of the new charter or 
frame of government, which the former assembly had 
left unfinished. 

They made,- however, very little progress, before the 
jealousies and surmisings which had formerly rent the 
territories from the province began to appear. The mem- 
bers from the lower counties, perceiving that the growing 
population and wealth of the province must inevitably at 
no distant day render the balance of power very unequal, 
and fearing or professing to fear that an improper advan- 
tage would be taken, demanded that no greater number 
of representatives should at any subsequent time be sent 
from the province than from the territories. This pro- 
posal being rejected by the provincial members, a sepa- 
ration seemed in danger of taking place. But both par- 
ties agreed to consult the Governor upon the subject ; and 
he suggested an expedient, to which they all a,greed, viz., 
that in all legislative acts in which the interests or privi- 
leges of the territories were separately involved, the con- 



472 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

currcDce of two-thirds of the members from the lower 
counties, as well as a majority of those from the province, 
should be required. 

This question being settled, another almost immediately 
arose. It was agreed that provision should be made for 
defraying the expense of government ; but the adjustment 
of the mode and the proportion to be paid by the different 
sections was the difficulty. Several plans were proposed 
and rejected, the members from the territories, and those 
from the province, uniformly taking opposite sides. As 
there were then only three counties in the province, this 
division of their votes produced an exact equilibrium. But 
again the wisdom and discretion of William Penn brought 
the contending parties to' an agreement. 

During the time which William Penn had passed in 
America, he had applied himself industriously to the 
affairs of the government ; endeavoring to rectify the dis- 
orders which had crept into the province ; always pre- 
ferring the good of the country and its inhabitants to his 
own private interest ; rather remitting than strictl)^ ex- 
acting his lawful revenues ; so that under his paternal 
administration the people of the province were advancing 
in prosperity and accumulating the necessaries and com- 
forts of life. But the ambition of rulers and the intrigues 
of their enemies raised another storm, which in a short 
time separated William Penn forever from his province. 

The growing wealth and population of the American 
colonies began before this time to excite the jealousy of 
the government at home, and the project appears to have 
been formed soon after the revolution to purchase the 
proprietorship of the more important ones, if not of all, 



OF WILLIAM PENN-. 473 

and vest their government in the crown. A bill was at 
this time actually before the House of Lords, for chang- 
ing the colonial governments into regal ones. The excuse 
for tliis intended assumption of power, was the national 
advantage to be derived from it on one hand, and the pre- 
tended abuses existing among them on the other. The 
friends of William Penn and others interested in the 
affairs of Pennsylvania, represented to Parliament the 
hardship of his case, and solicited a suspension of their 
proceedings until he could return and answer for himself 
Letters were also despatched, giving him information of 
the measures in progress and urging his immediate return. 

Painful as the prospect of abandoning the colony in 
which he had expected to spend" the evening of his day 
unquestionably was, there appeared no alternative. The 
experiment w^hich he had attempted, of maintaining a 
government upon Christian principles, and making the 
settlement of the country subservient to the civilization 
of the original inhabitants, was in danger of being totally 
frustrated. A military government might be reasonably 
expected in case the bill in question should be completed ; 
and very possibly the barbarous contests with the natives 
which marked the early settlements in Virginia and New 
England, would be renewed upon the banks of the Dela- 
ware. 

Having decided upon a voyage to Europe, William 
Penn again convened the assembly at Philadelphia, to 
w^hom on the 15th of Seventh month he delivered an 
address, in which he said : 

"I cannot think of such a voyage without great re- 
luctancy of mind, having promised myself the quietness 
40* 



474: PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

of a wilderness, and that I might stay so long at least 
with you as to render everybody entirely easy and safe 
For my heart is among you as well as my body, what- 
ever some people may please to think, and no unkindness 
or disappointment shall, with submission to God's prov- 
idence, ever be able to alter my love to the country, and 
resolution to return and settle my family and posterity in 
it ; but having reason to believe I can at this time best 
serve you and myself on that side of the water, neither 
the rudeness of the season, nor tender circumstances of 
my family, can overrule my inclinations to undertake it. 

'' Think therefore, since all men are mortal, of some 
suitable expedient and provision for your safety, as well 
in your privileges as property, and you will find me 
ready to comply with whatsoever may render us happy 
by a nearer union of our interests. 

" Review again your laws ; propose new ones that may 
better your circumstances, and what you do, do it quickly, 
remembering that the Parliament sits the end of the 
next month, and that the sooner I am there the safer I 
hope we shall be here." 

It is not necessary to enter into a detail of the proceed- 
ings of this assembly. Suffice it to observe, that the 
jealousies of the lower counties again appeared, but were 
so far allayed by the mildness and firmness of the Governor, 
that the members agreed to proceed with those from the 
province in the settlement of the business for which they 
were convened. The charter of privileges was completed 
and signed, to the general satisfaction of the parties con- 
cerned. 

The news that William Penn was going to England 



OF WILLIAM PENN. * 475 

Boon brought n, number of Indians to visit him. Some of 
these visits were received at Pennsbury, probably before 
the meeting of the assembly, and one, at least, at Phila- 
delphia, during the session. 

John Richardson, who was then in Pennsylvania upon 
a religious visit, has left us a brief account of an interview 
between William Penn and the Indians at Pennsbury. 
The conference was conducted with great sobriety and 
decorum. One of the chiefs, speaking of their covenants 
which they were then reviving, told them that they never 
first broke their covenants with any people ; for, striking 
his hand upon his head, he said they did not make them 
there ; but said, striking his hand on his breast, they 
made them there. After the proper business was finished, 
William Penn presented them with some articles of cloth- 
ing, and before they left him, assured them that if any 
differences should arise between them and any of his 
people, it need not be the cause of war; for that justice 
should be done in such cases ; that animosities might be 
prevented on both sides forever. 

Of the visit made during the session of the assembly, 
but little is now known, though the interview is Said to 
have been very interesting. It appears to have been in 
the presence of the council. 

William Penn told them, the assembly was then about 
enacting a law, according to the desire of the Indians, to 
prevent their being abused by the sale of rum among 
them ; and he requested them to unite their utmost efforts 
with those of the government, to secure its due execution. 

Observing to them at the same time, that this was likely 
to be his last interview with them, at least until his return, 



476 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

he assured them he had always loved them, and been kind 
to them, and should always continue so to be, not from 
policy or to promote his own interest, but from a real 
affection ; and he desired them, in his absence, to cultivate 
friendship with those whom he should leave in authority 
behind him ; for they would always, in some degree, con- 
tinue their friendship to them as he had ever done. Lastly, 
he told them, that be had charged the members of council, 
and he then repeated the charge, that they should in all 
respects be kind to them, and entertain them with all 
courtesy and demonstrations of good-will, as he had always 
done. The members then promised that they would faith- 
fully observe the charge. Some presents were then made 
to the Indians, after which they withdrew. 

Preparations being made for his voyage, and the vessel 
nearly ready to sail, he appointed a council of state, con- 
sisting of ten persons, of whom Thomas Story was one ; 
he likewise presented the citizens of Philadelphia with a 
charter, constituting it a city, with the necessary powder 
for its government ; and lastly, he constituted Andrew 
Hamilton, who was sometime governor both of East and 
West New Jersey, his deputy governor for the province 
and territories. 

On the 31st of Eighth month, ItOl, he embarked with 
his wife and family, and arrived safely at Portsmouth 
about the middle of the Tenth month .following. 

At the time of his sailing, Isaac Norris wrote : 

"27th 8br. 1701. 
*' This comes by our proprietor and governor, Penn, 
who with his family are undertaking this hazardous voy- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 477 

a^e at too hard a season. I earnestly desire and pray 
for their preservation and safety : him we shall want. 
The unhappy misunderstandings in some, and unwar- 
rantable opposition in others, have been a block to our 
plenary comforts in him and his own quiet; but these 
things are externals only, our communion in the church 
sweetens all, and our inward w^aitings and worship [have] 
often been a general comfort and consolation ; and in this 
I take a degree of satisfaction after all, that we part in 
love ; and some of his last [expressions] in our meeting 
yesterday were, that 'he looked over all infirmities and 
outwards, and had an eye to the regions of spirit, wherein 
was our sweetest tye,' and in true love then he took his 
leave of us. His excellent wife, and she is beloved by 
all, (I believe I may say in its fullest extent,) so is her 
leaving us, heavy and of real sorrow to her friends ; she 
has carried, under and through all, with a wonderful even- 
ness, humility, and freedom ; her sweetness and goodness 
have become her character, and are indeed extraordinary." 

From on board the ship, he wrote to James Logan : 

" I have left thee in uncommon trust, with a singular 
dependence on thy justice and care. Use thy utmost en- 
deavors to receive all that is due to me. Pay off all my 
notes and orders on thee, settle my accounts, discharge all 
my debts honorably but carefully, make rent-rolls, draw 
up an estimate of my estate, and of what may be raised 
from it, which send over to me as speedily as possible, for 
it may be of great use to me. Give my dear love to all 
my friends, who I desire may labor to soften angry spirits, 
and to reduce them to a sense of their duty." 



i78 PASSAGES FKOM THE LIFE 



XXVI. 

THERE can be no doubt that William Penn, upon his 
arrival in England, paid all the needful attention to 
the subject which occasioned his voyage ; yet we do not 
find that any considerable efforts on his part were required. 
The attention of the government was sufficiently engrossed 
by objects of greater interest to the nation, and the death of 
the king, which occurred on the 8th of First month, 1*701-2, 
produced a sensible change in the situation of William 
Penn in relation to the government at home. His well- 
known friendship for the unfortunate and bigoted James, 
as we have had ample reason to observe, without and 
participation in the arbitrary measures of the court, ren- 
dered him an object of suspicion during the reign of Wil- 
liam. But upon the accession of Ann, the second daughter 
of James, those jealousies disappeared, and he became 
once more an acceptable visitor at court. Amidst these 
changes of influence and power, the bill for converting the 
colonial into regal governments was suffered to fall into 
oblivion. 

But another was enacted, requiring the royal assent to 
the appointment of deputy governors. This indicates a 
disposition to render them more dependent upon the crown 
than they had hitherto been. It was probably with a view 
of being at hand to counteract any measures on the part 
of the government injurious to the interests of the colo- 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 479 

nies, that William Penn took lodgings for himself and 
family at Kensington, where he appears to have resided 
during the year 1102. 

Frequent communications passed between William Penn 
and James Logan which give an insight into both private 
and public affairs. From one of the first letters after Wil- 
liam Pcnn's arrival in England, it is evident that the 
habits of his son William, a young man of fine talents and 
pleasing address, were causing him great anxiety. He 
had married before his father's family went to America, 
and therefore did not go with them. It was now in pros- 
pect to send him to America, probably in order to break 
ofl" hurtful associations. William Penn writes : 

" My son (William) shall hasten ; possess him, go with 
him to Pennsbury, advise him, contract and recommend 
his acquaintance. He has promised fair. I know he will 
regard thee. But thou wilt see that I have purchased the 
mighty supplies at a dear rate. • God forgive those wretched 
people who have misused me so, and preserve my spirit 
over it. Pennsylvania has been a dear Pennsylvania to 
me all over, which few consider, and with me lay to heart. 
Be discreet. He has wit, kept the top company, and must 
be handled with much love and wisdom ; and urging the 
weakness and folly of some behaviors, and the necessity 
of another conduct from interest and reputation, will go 
far. And get Samuel Carpenter, Edward Shippen, Isaac 
Norris, Phineas Pcmberton, Thomas Masters, and such 
persons, to be soft, and kind, and teaching. It will do 
wonders with him, and he is conquered that way. Pre- 
tends much to honor, and is but over-generous by half, 



480 PASSAGES FEOM THE LIFE 

and yet sharp enough to get to spend. He cannot well 
be put off. All this keep to thyself." 

William Penn writes to James Logan ; 

" London, 21st of Fourth month, 1702. 

..." Never had poor man my task, with neither men 
nor money to assist me. I therefore strictly charge thee 
that thou represent to Friends there, that I am distressed 
for want of supply ; that I am forced to borrow money, 
and add debts to debts, instead of paying them off. 
Besides, my uncomfortable distance from my family, and 
the unspeakable fatigue and vexation of following attend- 
ance, drafts of answer, conferences, council's opinions, 
hearings, etc., with the charge that follows them, guineas 
melting, four, five, six a week, and sometimes as many in 
a day. My wife hitherto has been maintained by her 
father, whence she is coming next week to Worminghurst 
on my daughter's account, in likelihood to marry. I have 
been more sensibly touched for the honor of the country's 
administration than for myself. 

" I have had the advice of some of the wisest and great- 
est men in England, that wish me well, about bargaining 
with the crown for my government. They all say, ' Stay 
awhile, be not hasty ; ' yet some incline to a good bar- 
gain." 

James Logan writes to William Penn : 

" Philadelphia, 17th of Seventh month, 1702. 
*' We are sensible of thy great exigencies for want of 
sufficient supplies there, but I can see no better way to 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 481 

remedy it than those I am upon. When thy son arrives, 
he will be a witness of our circumstances, and that I pre- 
tend nothing for the sake of excuse, but what we too feel- 
ingly experience to be true. 

'' I cannot advise against a bargain with the crown, 
if to be had on good terms for thyself and the people. 
Friends here, at least the generality of the best informed, 
think government at this time so ill fitted to their princi- 
ples, that it renders them very indifferent in that point, 
further than that they earnestly desire thy success in vin- 
dicating the country's reputation, and that they may not 
fall a spoil to such base hands as now seek our ruin. 
Privileges, they believe, such as might be depended on 
for a continuance both to thee and them, with a moderate 
governor, would set much more at ease, and give thee an 
happier life as proprietor only, than thou hast yet had as 
governor. Besides, that it would exempt thee from the 
solicitude they are under, both from their own impotence 
and the malicious watchfulness of enemies. . . ." 

William Penn writes to James Logan : 

" 24th of Twelfth month, 1702. 

... "I never was so low and so reduced. For Ire- 
land, my old principal verb, has hardly any money. 

"I have great interest, as well as my son's settlement 
to deduct, with three or four per cent, tax here and 
twenty or twenty-six per cent, exchange from Ireland to 
England, to answer. I therefore earnestly urge supplies, 
and by the best methods and least hazardous. 

" I know thy ability, I doubt not thy integrity, I desire 
41 2F 



482 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

thy application and health, and, above all, thy growth in 
the feeling of the power of Truth, for that fits and helps us 
above all other things, even in business of this world — • 
clearing our heads, quickening our spirits, and giving us 
faith and courage to perform. 

" I am sorry to find by thine, thou art so miich op- 
pressed in thy station, and wish I could make it lighter. 
If my son will apply himself to business, he may, by the 
authority of his relationship, etc., render "the post easier 
to thee. I know the baseness of the temper of too many 
of the people thou hast to deal with, which calls for judg- 
ment and great temper, with some authority." 

Governor Hamilton's administration was terminated by 
his death in about two years. The contest between the 
three upper and three lower counties, which finally re- 
sulted in the dissolution of their union, was kept up dur- 
ing the whole time, and his- efforts to bring them into 
agreement failed of any effect. 

His successor was John Evans, described by William 
Penn, in writing to James Logan, as "a young man, not 
above six and twenty, but sober and sensible ; the son of 
an old friend that loved me not a little. He will be dis- 
creet, advisable, and especially by the best of our friends." 
He was accompanied by William Penn, Jr., whom his 
father was desirous to interest in the business of the 
province, and thus withdraw him from the dissipations 
of Europe. William Penn writes to James Logan : 

" Take him away to Pennsbury, and there give him the 
true state of things, and weigh down his levities, as well 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 483 

as temper his resentments, and inform his understanding, 
since all depends upon it, as well for his future happiness 
as, in measure, the poor country's." ... 

" Watch him, outwit him, and honestty overreach him 
for his good. Fishings, little journeys (as to see the In- 
dians, etc.) will divert him. And interest Friends to bear 
all they can, and melt towards him, at least civilly, if not 
religiously. He will confide in thee. If S. Carpenter, 
Richard Hill, and Isaac Norris could gain his confidence, 
and tender Griffith Owen — not the least likely, for he sees 
and feels — I should rejoice. Pennsylvania has cost me 
dearer in my poor child than all other considerations. 
The Lord pity and spare in his great mercy. I yet hope." 

James Logan writes to William Penn after his arrival : 

" Thy son's voyage hither I hope will prove to the sat- 
isfaction of all and to his, and therefore thy, happiness. 
It is his stock of excellent good nature that, in a great 
measure, has led him out into his youthful sallies when 
too easily prevailed on ; and the same, I hope, when sea- 
soned with the influence of his prevailing better judgment, 
with which he is well stored, will happily conduct him 
into the channel of his duty to God, himself, and thee. 
He is very well received, and seldom fails of drawing love 
where he comes. 'T is his good fortune here to be with- 
drawn from those temptations that have been too success- 
ful over his natural sweetness and yielding temper with 
his associates." 

James Logan writes to William Penn . 



484 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

" I lie under a great hard-ship for want of a more full 
adjustment of matters in relation to his (Wm. Penn, Jr.) 
supplies here. Before he left England he threw himself, 
he says, entirely upon thy generosity, and therefore re- 
sents it the more nearly when I am not able to come up 
to his expectations, which, though far from extravagant, 
are much above the limits set me. The directions given 
me can by no means satisfy him, nor answer what is 
thought suitable to the presumptive heir of the province, 
upon his first appearance in it, even by the most reason- 
able. He expresses himself dutifully to thee, but notwith- 
standing it forces him on thoughts that render his visit of 
less service to him." 

William Penn writes to James Logan : 

"Bristol, 2d 8br., 1704. 

..." If my son proves very expensive, I cannot bear 
it ; bat must place to his account what he spends above 
moderation, while I lie loaded with debt and interest 
here ; else I shall pay dear for the advantage his going 
thither might entitle me to, since the subscribers and 
bondsmen cannot make ready pay, according to what he 
has received for his land there. So excite his return or 
send for his family to him, since I cannot come to him as 
soon as I wish. For if he bring not wherewith to pay 
his debts here, his creditors will fall foul upon him most 
certainly. . . . 

" I have done when I tell thee to let my poor son know 
that, if he be not a very good husband, I must sell there 
as well as here ; and that all he spends is disabling me so 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 485 

far to clear myself of debt, and that lie will pay for it at 
the long run. Do it in the friendliest manner, that he 
may co-operate with me to clear our encumbered estate 
and honors." 

James Logan writes to William Penn, Ninth month 28, 
1704: 

"The Governor (Evans), upon the queen's letter, 
thought himself obliged to establish a militia. It was 
proposed that all who would enlist should be exempted 
from all services of the wards, as watching, constables, 
etc. Upon this those of the church party who desired to 
discourage a militia refused to watch at all. Not long 
after this, the watch meeting with a company at Enoch 
Story's, a tavern in which some of the militia officers 
were, a difference arose that ended with some rude- 
ness. Next night, the watch coming again to the same 
place, and thy son happening to be in company, there was 
something of a fray, which ended with the watch's retir- 
ing. This, with all the persons concerned in it, was taken 
notice of the next mayor's court, and not any regard had 
to names. The indignity, however, put upon the eldest 
son of the founder is looked upon by most moderate men 
to be very base, and by him (the Governor) and all others 
not quite of their party is deeply resented as a thing ex- 
ceedingly provoking." . . . "He thought himself obliged 
no longer to keep to any measures with such as, making 
more than ordinary pretences to religion, could so little 
observe any rule of decency with him or gratitude and 

respect for their founder. Notwithstanding this, he still 
41 X- 



486 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

expresses such a tender regard to his father's profession 
that nothing can disturb him more than to hear it un- 
kindly treated." 

In another letter he says ; " Let me take the freedom 
to request thee to be very tender to him in thy resent- 
ment, lest those he has already conceived, from the abuses 
put upon him, should by any addition precipitate him into 
ruin," 

There seems reason to believe that some of those in 
authority suffered their opposition to the proprietary's 
government to make them willing to weaken his position 
by making his son's deficiencies conspicuous. 

Isaac Norris writes respecting this affair : *' William 
Penn, Jr., is quite gone off from Friends. He being in 
company with some extravagants that beat the watch at 
Enoch Story's was presented with them, which unman- 
nerly and disrespectful act (as he takes it) gives him great 
disgust, and seems a waited occasion. He talks of going 
home in the Jersey man-of-war next month. I wish things 
had been better or he had never come." 

Having sold his manor of tOOO acres on the Schuylkill 
(now Norristown) for £850, he left the country, 

William Penn writes to James Logan : 

" London, 16th of Eleventh month, 1704. 

"A melancholy scene enough upon my poor child. 
Pennsylvania began it by my absence here, and there it 
is accomplished, with expense, disappointment, ingrati- 
tude, and poverty. 

" The Lord uphold me, under these sharp and heavy 



OF w I L L T A :\r P E X N . 487 

burdens with bis free Spirit. I should have been glad of 
an account of his expenses and more of a rent-roll, if I 
must perish with gold in my view but not in my power. 
To have neither supplies nor a reason of credit here is 
certainly a cruel circumstance. I want to know what I 
have to stand upon and help myself with. He [his son] 
is my greatest affliction, for his soul's and my country's 
and family's sake. . . . 

" Nor did thou send me word what my son sold his 
manor for ; but after his arrival he drew a bill for £10 to 
ride two hundred miles home, and which he performed in 
two days and a night. I met him by appointment be- 
tween this and Worminghurst. We stayed but three 
hours together. See how much more easily the bad 
Friends' treatment of him stumbled him from the blessed 
truth, than those he acknowledges to be good ones could 
prevail to keep him in possession of it, from the prevail- 
ing ground in himself to what is levity more than what 
is retired, circumspect, and virtuous." 

James Logan writes to William Penn : 

" Tenth month, 1704. 
" The return of thy son and the representation that he 
brings, with the unhappy effects those have had upon him, 
accompanied, at the same time, with that unparalleled piece 
of baseness from D. L., will soon put thee (I doubt not) 
on measures for thy case from such an accumulation of 
troubles. I cannot foresee any probability of being 
brought into regular order again till under the crown ; 
and it seems all owing to those unhappy charters, which, 



488 PASSAGES FUOM THE LIFE 

being designed as favors, are made use of by ill men as 
tools for mischief. 

" It seems as if we were all in a ferment, and whatever 
was impure among the whole people rose in its filth to 
the top. I wish we may ever be skimmed, so as to leave 
anything pure behind. I am fully convinced, at least, 
that prudence and counsel are much in vain, unless they 
are made the instruments of the only guiding power of 
all human things." 

James Logan had before written to William Penn : 

" Philadelphia, 14th Fifth montli, 1704. 
..." This people think privileges their due, and all 
that can be grasped their native right ; but when dis- 
pensed with too liberal a hand, as not restraining licen- 
tiousness, may produce their greatest unhappiness. Char- 
ters here are in danger of being made of fatal consequence, 
for some peoples' brains are as soon intoxicated with power 
as the natives are with their beloved liquor, and as little 
to be trusted with it. A well-tempered mixture in gov- 
ernment is the happiest, the greatest liberty and property ; 
and commonwealth's men, invested with power, have been 
known to be the greatest tyrants." 

Isaac Norris wrote afterwards : " Things in Governor 
Evans' time ran to a great height between him and the 
assemb'y. On his first arrival, and two years after, a 
niggardly and untoward temper seemed to reign in the 
assembly against the proprietor and him, his lieutenant, 
fomented and managed by the arts of some that were 



OP WILLIAM PENN. 489 

either professed or secret enemies of the proprietor. All 
bis management from the beginning was nicely scanned, 
and from thence [was] raked together everything that 
could be thought of as a material for remonstrances and 
reproaches, dressed up in the most indecent manner. And 
this was made a pretence to give nothing towards the sup- 
port of government, but starve the deputy." 

James Logan writes to William Penn : 

" 3d 8br., 1704. 

. . . "David Lloyd being recorder of the city, and 
likely, in all probability, to be speaker of the next as- 
sembly, from his temper so well known, there seems but 
little good to be anticipated. The generality, however, 
are honestly and well inclined, and 5ut of the assembly 
are very good men ; but when got together, I know not 
how, they are infatuated and led by smooth stories. 
David himself makes as great a profession as any man, 
but we can see no good effects from it. • 

" The part thou hast hitherto had to manage in the 
world will not suffer thee with any honor utterly to de- 
sert this people ; and, on the other side, I cannot see why 
thou should neglect thy own interest while no more grat- 
itude is shown thee. Were one man from among us we 
might, perhaps, be happy ; but he is truly a promoter of 
discord, with the deepest artifice under the smoothest lan- 
guage and pretences. I cannot but pity the poor misled 
people, who really design honestly, .but know not whom 
to trust for their directors. They are so often told that 
things want to be mended that at length they are per- 
suaded it is the case, and not knowing how to set about 



490 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

it themselves, believe that those who can discover the 
disease arc the most capable to direct the proper reme- 
dies. I believe in the whole assembly there are not three 
men that wish ill to thee, and yet I can expect but little 
good from ttem. 

" I have never been under a greater depression of 
thought than for these few months past. Thy estates 
here daily sinking by the country's impoverishment, with 
thy exigencies increasing, suffer me not to know what 
any of the comforts of life are." 



William Penn writes to James Loffan 



1704. 



. . . "As difficult as my circumstances are, and as mean 
a prospect as thou glvest me of any supply, yet that hardly 
troubles me equally to the weakness and worse (I fear) 
of some of our folks in reference to your government 
matters. Will they never be wise ? These assemblies, 
held so unwisely, as well as so hazardously, will, in the 
end, subject the whole to laws made for them in Parlia- 
ment. 

" I am sorry to have such a prospect of charges — two 
houses and the governor's salary, my son's voyage, stay, 
and return ; and no revenue nor Susquehanna money paid, 
on which account I ventured my poor child so far from 
his wife and pretty children, and my own oversight. Oh, 
Pennsylvania, what hast thou not cost me ! Above £30,000 
more than I ever got by it, two hazardous and most 
fati lining voyages, my straits and slavery here, and my 
(^hild's soul almost; as I have formerly expressed myself, 
but ] must be short — .1 shall be further loaded, instead of 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 491 

his coming being instrumental to relieve me. In short, 
I must sell all or be undone, and disgraced into the 
bargain." ... 

William Penn writes to James Logan : 

" Hyde Park, 30th Second month, 1705. 

. . " I can hardly be brought to turn my back en- 
tirely upon a place the Lord so specially brought to my 
hand, and has hitherto preserved against the proud swell- 
ings of many waters, both there and here. What with 
the load of unworthy spirits with you and some not much 
better here ; with my poor son's going into the army or 
navy, as well as getting into Parliament, through so many 
checks and tests upon his morals as well as education; 
with the load of debt, hardly to be answered from the 
difficulty of getting in what I have a right to, of twice 
their value, which is starving in the midst of bread, my 
head and heart are filled sufficiently with trouble ; yet the 
Lord holds up my head, and Job's over-righteous and 
mistaken friends have not sunk my soul from its confi- 
dence in God. 

******* 

" My son has lost his election, as also the lord-keeper's 
son-in-law ; but both hope to recover it by proving brib- 
ery upon the two that have it. Lord Windsor and Squire 
Argell. I wish it might turn his face to privacy and good 
husbandry, if not nearer to us." . . . 

This unworthy son of great and good parents after- 
wards left his wife and children dependent on his father 



492 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

and lived on the Continent. He died in France, about two 
years after his father's decease, expressing on his death- 
bed; it is said, his reg-ret for the " wrongs he had done." 

An added source of trial to William Penn was the in- 
considerate pressure of his son-in-law, Aubrey, for his 
wife's portion. James Logan calls him " one of the 
keenest men living." William Penn, in one of his letters 
to James. Logan, says, " My son-in-law Aubrey grows very 
troublesome because he gets nothing thence — almost an 
open break, did I not bear with him extremely ; " and 
again, " I desire thee to hasten all the relief thou canst, 
both to me and my son Aubrey, of whom I would be clear 
of all men ; he has a bitter tongue, and I wish I had noth- 
ing to do with him in money matters." 

About this time we learn that he visited the meetings 
of Friends in the west of England, and had good and 
effectual service in the ministry. He also wrote a short 
epistle addressed to his own Society. 

" My Dear Friends : — Hold all your meetings in that 
which set them up, the heavenly power of God, both min- 
isters and hearers, and live under it and not above it, and 
the Lord will give you dominion over that which seeks to 
draw yoLi again into captivity to the spirit of this world 
under divers appearances ; that the truth may shine 
through you in righteousness and holiness, in self-denial, 
long-suffering, patience, and brotherly kindness ; so shall 
you approve yourselves the redeemed of the Lord, and 
his living witnesses to an evil generation. So prays your 
friend and brother through the many tribulations ::;hat lead 
to the kingdom of God.'- 



OF WILLIAM PEXN. 493 



XXVII. 

T71R0M 1105 to 1108, while oppressed by many heavy 
J- cares and anxieties of both public and private char- 
acter, William Penn had the unhappiness to be involved 
in law-suits with the heirs of Philip Ford, who had been 
entrusted with the management of his estates in Ireland. 
Ford was a member of his own religious society, whom he 
had treated with great kindness, and, supposing him bound 
by a sense of gratitude, had imprudently trusted to his in- 
tegrity and had accepted accounts and signed papers pre- 
sented to him without sufficient examination. 
William Penn writes to James Logan : 

"28th Tenth month, 1705. 

" I offered upon the adjusting the accounts, (against 
which I have great and equitable exceptions,) that the 
half should be then presently paid, and the other reason- 
ably secured ; and that, as I desired not to be a judge in 
my own case, I did propose to refer it to Friends of their 
and my own choosing. Both which (after three years' agi- 
tation) they refused. The rea,son why they will not refer 
their case, is supposed to be the blackness and injustice 
of the account, which by chancery the}^ hope to stifle, and 
have the oppressive sum allowed, being upon security." 

A minute of Devonshire House Meeting, London, de- 
clares its disunity with the widoAV and son and daughter 
of Philip Ford for having refused to arbitrate the case 
42 



494 PASSAGES F R O ]\I T HE LIFE 

according to the "Christian principle and good order" 
of the Society of Friends, and leaves William Penn " at 
liberty now to make his defence in law." 

James Logan writes to Thomas Callowhill, William 
Penn's father-in-law : 

"13th of 6th mo., 1706. 

" I fear we shall be engaged in great perplexities, by 
reason of that most unfortunate business of Philip Ford. 
Never was any person more barbarously treated or baited 
with undeserved enemies. He [William Penn] has been 
able to foil all attacks from public adversaries; but 'tis 
his fortune to meet with greatest severities from those 
that owe most to him. One would think there was almost 
a commission granted, as against Job, for his trial ; for 
such an accumulation of adversaries has seldom been 
known to attack a person that so little deserved them. It 
must be confessed that something of it all is owing to his 
easiness and want of caution. 

" I wish some of those that are acquainted with the 
more effectual way of transacting such concerns would 
search into the bottom of it ; consider, by the most unbi- 
assed advice, the strength of his antagonists, and endeavor 
to fix on the most effectual means for his security ; for, 
as far as I can gather from the accounts which I have 
at such a distance, Philip Ford's designs were base and 
barbarous from the beginning. 

" And what an old, cunning, self-interested man, with 
such intentions, might be capable of doing, when he had 
so much goodness, open-heartedness, and confidence in hi3 
honesty to deal with, is not difficult to imagine." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 495 

About the time of the war in IrelaDfl, when William and 
James were contending for the mastery of the island, 
Ford made, or professed to have made, considerable ad- 
vances on William Penn's account. The heavy expenses 
which the latter had incurred in the management of his 
province had embarrassed his circumstances, so that in- 
stead of paying these advances, he mortgaged his property 
in Pennsylvania, as security for the debt. But Ford 
managed to procure an absolute conveyance of the prov- 
ince, and gave an informal defeasance in return. During 
the life of Ford this transaction remained a secret, but 
after his death, his executors claimed not only the pro- 
prietorship but the government of the province. The 
latter claim was, however, abandoned, as it was not in- 
cluded in the conveyance. William' Penn insisted that 
the transaction was a mortgage, not a conveyance, and 
instituted a suit in chancery for opening and liquidating 
Ford's accounts, whose demand amounted to about twelve 
thousand pounds sterling. He considered two-thirds of 
this charge to be unjust, being made up by computing com- 
pound interest, and by exorbitant commissions. The chan- 
cellor seems to have been convinced that the account was 
not fairly stated, but the settlements which had been 
sanctioned at several times by William Penn rendered it 
Improper in his view to open the accounts. While this 
suit was pending in chancery, the representatives of Ford 
instituted a suit in the King's Bench for arrears of rent, 
upon a lease of the province, made by Philip Ford to the 
proprietary, and obtained a verdict for three thousand 
pounds. Execution was issued, and an officer sent to 
arrest William Penn while he was attending a public 



496 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

meeting for worship. Bat the bailiff permitted him to 
stay the meeting-, upon the assurance of Henry Gouldney 
and others that he would surrender himself when it was 
over. This was accordingly done, and he in consequence 
was obliged to live for nine months within the rules of 
the Fleet. A compromise was at length effected, and the 
sum of seven thousand pounds accepted in lieu of tho 
sums demanded. The money was chiefly advanced by his 
friends, and a mortgage on the province for six thousand 
six hundred pounds was given as security. The imposi- 
tion practised • by this unworthy confidant may be in 
part computed from the fact, that he received seventeen 
thousand pounds of William Penn's money, and disbursed 
on his own account only sixteen thousand pounds, and 
yet brought his employer twelve thousand pounds in debt 
for interest and services. 

After this painful affair was adjusted, he again travelled 
through some of the western parts of England, in the 
work of the ministry, as his health and strength would 
admit. He likewise visited the counties of Berks, Buck- 
ingham, Surrey, and other places. 

About this time we find the first notice of the failure of 
his physical powers. The numerous perplexities through 
which he had recently passed, together with necessary 
decays of nature, were producing their visible effects on 
his once athletic constitution. The air in the vicinity of 
London was found unfavorable to his declining powers, and 
he removed to Rushcomb, in Buckinghamshire, where he 
resided for the rest of his life. 

The following letter from William Penn to Friends in 
Pennsvlvania was written while imprisoned at the Fleet. 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 497 

" London, 28th Seventh month, 1708. 

" Dear Friends and Brethren. — My ancient love, if 
you can believe it, reaches to you as in times past and 
years that are gone ; even in the Divine root and principle 
of love and life that made us near to one another, above 
all worldly considerations ; where our life, I hope, is hid 
with Christ in God, our Father; so that when He appears 
we shall also appear with Him in glory ; and in the mean- 
time through us, to those that love and wait for his 
appearance, as the desire of nations, that we may glorify 
God, his, and our everlasting Father, in our bodies, souls, 
and spirits, in temporal and eternal affairs. . . . 

"Oh, my dear friends, let all below this keep on the 
left hand ; and wait to feel those blessed things, to inherit 
the right hand ; and in faith and courage cry aloud to the 
Lord, for his renewing and refreshing power, that may 
revive and reform his work upon your hearts and minds ; 
and our humility, meekness, patience, self-denial, and 
charity, with a blameless walking, may appear and mani- 
fest the work of God upon our hearts, to those that are 
without ; which is not only the way to bring up the 
loiterers, and gather in the careless ones to their duty, 
but fetch home and bring in the strangers and the very 
enemies of the blessed Truth, to confess and acknowledge 
that God is in you and for you of a truth. 

"I earnestly beseech you to assist James Logan, and 
who else the trustees for the payment of the money here 
advanced shall nominate, not only to get in, but turn into 
money, the best you are able, that I may come honora- 
bly to you and speedily, which I hope to do, as soon as 
you and these Friends here think fit. Let me have this 
42* 2G 



•J 98 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

pledgee of your love, and it shall be a lasting one, to ad- 
vise and assist you for the expediting of the matter, for 
be assured I long to be with you ; and if the Lord bring 
me and mine there, I hope not to return on almost any 
terms, at least not without your advice and satisfaction ; 
for care of you, and settling plantations for my poor 
minors ; for planters, God willing, they shall be in their 
father's country, rather than great merchants in their 
native land ; and to visit Friends throughout the conti- 
nent, at least, their chiefest business. 

" In the first love I leave you and yours, and all the 
Lord's people amongst you ; my family and affairs, to the 
merciful providence and orderings of our great and gracious 
God, that welcomed us in poor America with his excellent 
love and presence, and will, I hope, once more ; and re- 
main your loving friend, William Penn." 

The administration of Governor Evans was an unhappy 
one. From a number of his actions which are recorded, 
there can be no doubt that the proprietary was misin- 
formed of his character, or that his character underwent 
an unfavorable change after his appointment. There is 
also reason to believe that the influx of emigrants, of a 
class less moral and religious than those who accompanied 
William Penn in 1682, had somewhat deteriorated the 
general tone of morals in the province. 

After a turbulent administration of about five years, 
Governor Evans was removed and Charles Gookin ap- 
pointed in his place. 

Governor Gookin was a man of years and experience, 
from whose temper and abilities considerable hopes were 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 499 

entertained of a satisfactory and harmonious administra- 
tion. He arrived at Philadelphia on the first of First month, 
n09, when the assembly for the province was in session. 

Dissensions soon arose between the Governor and the 
assembly, which greatly impeded the public business, and 
were the source of much painful anxiety to William Penn. 
James Logan, secretary of the province, the firm and 
faithful friend of the proprietary, became an object of 
manifest aversion to the assembly. They even issued a 
warrant signed by the speaker, for apprehending and 
committing him to jail, when on the eve of embarking 
for England, but a supersedeas from the Governor pre- 
vented its execution. He prosecuted his voyage, and 
proved the integrity of his conduct to the satisfaction of 
the proprietor,, his own religious society, and the civil 
authorities. 

A letter of Isaac Norris, written soon after, says : 

'' Most of these sticklers in assembly are either Keitheans, 
or such as stand loose from Friends, who have other ends 
than what is penetrated into by some pretty honest, but 
not knowing men." 

Three years before this, James Logan had written to 
William Penn : ''It is the very leaven of George Keith 
left among the people at his separation, and now ferment- 
ing up again ; and these proceedings are contrary to the 
minds of honest Friends." 

The despatches which reached William Penn through 
the instrumentality of James Logan, or through other 
channels, gave him full knowledge of the turbulent spirit 
which distracted the province. He addressed to the 
assembly the following energetic expostulation : 



500 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

"London, 29th Fourth month, 1710. 

"My old Friends: — It is a mournful consideration, 
and the cause of deep affliction to me, that I am forced, 
by the oppressions and disappointments which have fallen 
to my share in this life, to speak to the people of that 
province in a language I once hoped I should never have 
occasion to use. But the ipany troubles and oppositions 
I have met with from thence, oblige me, in plainness and 
freedom, to expostulate with you concerning the causes 
of them. 

" When it pleased God to open a way for me to settle 
that colony, I had reason to expect a solid comfort from 
the services done to many hundreds of people ; and it is 
no small satisfaction to me that I have not been disap- 
pointed in seeing them prosper, and growing up to' a 
flourishing country, blessed witK liberty, ease, and plenty, 
beyond what many of themselves could expect ; and want- 
ing nothing to make them happy, but what, with a right 
temper of mind and prudent conduct, they might give 
themselves. But, alas ! as to my part, instead of reaping 
the like advantages, some of the greatest of my troubles 
have arisen from thence ; the many combats I have en- 
gaged in ; the great pains and incredible expense, for 
your welfare and case, to the decay of my former estate; 
of which (however some there would represent it) I too 
sensibly feel the effects ; with the undeserved opposition 
I have met with from thence, sink me into sorrow ; that, 
if not supported by a superior hand, might have over- 
whelmed me long ago. And I cannot but think it hard 
measure, that while that has proved a land of freedom 
and flourishing, it should become to me, by whose means 



OF WILLIAM PEXX. 501 

it was principally made a country, the cause of grief, 
trouble, and poverty. 

''For this reason I must desire you all, even of all pro- 
fessions and degrees, for although all have not been en- 
gaged in the measures that have been taken, yet every 
man who has an interest there is, or must be, concerned 
in them by their effects. I must, therefore, I say, desire 
you all, in a serious and true weightiness of mind, to con- 
sider what you are or have been doing. Why matters 
must be carried on with these divisions and contentions, 
and what real causes have been given, on my side, for 
that opposition to me and my interest which I have met 
with, as if I were an enemy and not a friend, after all I 
have done and spent, both here and there. I am sure, I 
know not of any cause whatsoever. Were I sensible you 
really wanted anything of me in the relation between us, 
that would make you happier, I should readily grant it, if 
any reasonable man would say it were fit for you to de- 
mand, provided you would also take such measures as 
were fit for me to join with. 

" Before any one family had transported themselves 
thither, I earnestly endeavored to form such a model of 
government as might make all concerned in it easy, which 
nevertheless was subject to be altered, as there should be 
occasion. Soon after we got over, that model appeared, 
in some parts of it, to be very inconvenient, if not im- 
practicable. The number of members, both in the council 
and assembly, was much too large. Some other matters 
also proved inconsistent with the king's charter to me, so 
that, according to the power reserved for an alteration, 
there was a necessity to make one, in which, if the lower 



502 PASSAGES FPtOM THE LIFE 

counties were brought in, it was well known, at that 
time, to be on a view of advantage to the province itself, 
as well as to the people of those counties, and to the gen- 
eral satisfaction of those concerned, without the least 
apprehension of any irregularity in the method. 

" Upon this they had another charter passed, nemine 
contradicente ; which I always desired might be con- 
tinued, while you yourselves would keep up to it, and put 
it in practice ; and many there know liow^ much it w^as 
against my will that, upon my last going over, it was 
vacated. But after this was laid aside (which indeed 
was begun by yourselves, in ^oloncl Fletcher's time), I, 
according to my engagement, left another, with all the 
privileges that were found convenient for your good gov- 
ernment; and if any part of it has been, in any case, 
infringed, it was never by my approbation. I desired it 
might be enjoyed fully. But though privileges ought to 
be tenderly preserved, they should not, on the other hand, 
be asserted under that name to a licentiousness. The 
design of government is to preserve good order, which 
may be equally broken in upon by the turbulent endeav- 
ors of the people, as well as the overstraining of power in 
a. governor. I designed the people should be secured of 
an annual fixed election and assembly, and that they 
should have the same privileges in it that any other as- 
sembly has in the Queen's dominions. Among all which 
this is one constant rule, as in the Parliament here, that 
they should sit on their own adjournments ; but to strain 
this expression to a power, to meet at all times during the 
year without the Governor's concurrence, would be to dis- 
tort government, to break the due proportion of the parts 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 603 

of it, to establish confusion in the phice of necessary order, 
and mal^e the legislative the executive part of government. 
Yet, for obtaining this power, I perceive much time and 
money have been spent, and great struggles have been 
made, not only for this, but some other things that cannot 
at all be for the advantage of the people to be possessed 
of, particularly the appointing of judges, because the 
administration might, by such means, be so clogged, that 
it would be difficult, if possible, under our circumstances, 
at some times, to support it. As for my own part, as I 
desire nothing more than the tranquillity and prosperity 
of the province and government in all its branches, could I 
see that any of these things that have been contended for, 
would certainly promote these ends, it would be a matter 
of indifference to me how they were settled. But seeing 
the frame of every government ought to be regular in it- 
self, well-proportioned and subordinate in its parts, and 
every branch of it invested with sufficient powder to dis- 
charge its respective duty for the support of the whole, I 
have cause to believe that nothing could be more destruc- 
tive to it than to take so much of the provision and execu- 
tive part of the government out of the Governor's hands 
and lodge it in an uncertain collective body, and more 
especially since our government is dependent, and I am 
answerable to the crown, if the administration should fail 
and a stop be put to the course of justice. On these con- 
siderations I cannot think it prudent in the people to 
crave these powers, because not only I, but they them- 
selves, would be in danger of suffering by it. Could T 
believe otherwise, I should not be against granting any- 
thing of this kind that were asked of me with any degree 



501 PASSAGES FROM TilE LIFE 

of common prudence and civility. But, instead of find- 
ing cause to believe that the contentions which have been 
raised about these matters, have proceeded only from mis- 
takes of judgment, with an earnest desire, notwithstand- 
ing, at the bottom, to serve the public (which, I hope, has 
still been the inducement of several concerned in them), I 
have had but too sorrowful a view and sight to complain 
of the manner in which I have been treated. The attacks 
on my reputation, the many indignities put upon me, in 
papers sent over hither, into the hands of those who could 
not be expected to make the most discreet and charitable 
use of them ; the secret insinuations against my justice, 
besides the attempt made upon my estate ; resolves past 
in the assemblies for turning my quit-rents, never sold by 
me, to the support of government ; my lands entered upon 
without any regular method ; my manors invaded (under 
pretence I had not duly surveyed them), and both these 
by persons principally concerned in these attempts against 
me here ; a right to my overplus land unjustly claimed by 
the possessors of the tracts in which they are found ; my 
private estate continually exhausting for the support of 
that government, both here and there, and no provision 
made for it by that country, to all which I cannot but 
add, the violence that has been particularly shown to my 
secretary, of which (though I shall by no means protect 
him in anything he can be justly charged with, but suffer 
him to stand or fall by his own actions) I cannot but thus 
far take notice, that from all the charges 1 have seen or 
heard of against him, I have cause to believe that had he 
been as much in opposition to me as he has been under- 
stood to stand for me, he might have met with a milder 



OF WILLIAM PEXX. 505 

treatment from his prosecutors ; and to think tliat any 
man should be the more exposed there on my account, and 
instead of finding favor, meet with enmity ibr his being 
engaged in my service, is a melancholy consideration I 
In short, when I reflect on all these heads, of which I 
have so much cause to complain, and, at the same time, 
think of the hardships I and my suffering family have 
been reduced to, in no small measure owing to my en- 
deavors for, and disappointments from, that province, I 
cannot but mourn the unhappiness of my portion, dealt to 
me from those of whom I had reason to expect much 
better and different things ; nor can I but lament the un- 
happiness that too many of them are bringing on them- 
selves, who, instead of pursuing the amicable ways of 
peace, love, and unity which I at first hoped to find in 
that retirement, are cherishing a spirit of contention and 
opposition ; and, blind to their own interest, are overset- 
ting that foundation on which your happiness might be 
built. 

" Friends, the eyes of many are upon you ; the people 
of many nations of Europe look on that country as a land 
of ease and quiet, wishing to themselves in vain the same 
blessings which they conceive you enjoy ; but to see the 
use you make of them is no less the cause of surprise to 
others, while such bitter complaints and reflections are 
seen to come from you, of which it is difficult to conceive 
even the sense or meaning. Where are the distresses, 
grievances, and oppressions that the papers sent from 
thence so often say you languish under, while others 
have cause to believe you have hitherto lived, or might 
live, the happiest of any in the queen's dominions ? 
43 



?>06 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

" Is it such a grievous oppression that the courts are 
established by my power, founded on the king's charter, 
without a law of your making, when upon the same plan 
you propose ? If this disturb any, take the advice of 
other able lawyers on the main, without tying me up to 
the opinion of principally one man, whom I cannot think 
so very proper to direct in my affairs (for I believe the 
late assembly have had but that one lawyer amongst 
them), and I am freely content you should have any law 
that, by proper judges, should be found suitable. Is it 
your oppression that the officers' fees are not settled by an 
act of assembly ? No man can be a greater enemy to ex- 
tortion than myself; do, therefore, allow such fees as may 
reasonably encourage fit persons to undertake these offices, 
and you shall soon have (and should have always cheer- 
fidly had; mine, and I hope my lieutenant's concurrence 
and approbation. Is it such an oppression that licenses 
for public houses have not been settled, as has been pro- 
posed? It is a certain sign you are strangers to oppres- 
sion, and know nothing but the name, when you so highly 
bestow it on matters so inconsiderable ; but that business, 
I find, is adjusted. Could I know any real oppression you 
lie under, that is in my power to remedy (and what I 
wish you would take proper measures to remedy, if you 
truly feel any such) I would be as ready, on my part, to 
remove them as you to desire it ; but according to the best 
judgment lean make of the complaints I have seen (and 
you once thought I had a pretty good one), I must, in a 
deep sense of sorrow, say that I fear the kind hand of 
Providence, that has so long favored and protected you, 
will, by the ingratitude of many there to the great morcios 



OF WILLIAM PEN.N. 507 

of God hitherto shown them, be at length provoked to 
convmce them of their imworthiness ; and, by changing 
into cakimities the blessings that so little care has been 
taken by the public to deserve, reduce those who have 
been so clamorous and causelessly discontented, to a true 
but smarting sense of their duty. I write not this with 
a design to include all. I doubt not many of you have 
been burdened at, and can by no means join in, the meas- 
ures that have been taken ; but while such things appear 
under the name of an assembly that ought to represent 
the whole, I cannot but speak more generally than I 
would desire, though T am not insensible what methods 
may be used to obtain the weight of such a name. 

" I have already been tedious, and shall now, therefore, 
briefly say that the opposition I have met with from 
thence must, at length, force me to consider more closely 
of my own private and sinking cii'cumstances in relation 
to that province. In the meantime, I desire you all 
seriously to weigh what I have written, together with 
your duty to yourselves, to me, and to the world, who 
have their eyes upon you, and are witnesses of my early 
and earnest care for you. I must think there is a regard 
due to me that has not of late been paid. Pray, consider 
of it fully, and think soberly what you have to desire of 
me on the one hand, and ought to perform to me on the 
other, for from the next assembly I shall expect to know 
Mdmt you resolve, and what I may depend on. If I must 
continue my regards to you, let me be engaged to it by a 
like disposition in you towards me. But if a plurality 
after this shall think they owe me none, or no more than 
for some years I have met, with, let it, on a fair election, 



508 P A S S A G E S FRO M T HE LIFE 

be so declared, and I shall then, without fuither suspense, 
know what I have to rely upon. God give you his wis- 
dom and fear to direct you, that yet our poor country 
may be blessed with peace, love, and industry, and we may 
once more meet good friends, and live so to the end ; our 
relation, in the truth, having but the same true interest. 

" I am, with great truth and most sincere regard, your 
real friend, as well as just proprietor and governor, 

William Penn." 

At the election an entirely new set of members was 
returned to the assembly, and a degree of harmony be- 
tween them and the Governor, which had been unknown 
for several years, marked the progress of the session, and 
this state of things continued with little interruption dur- 
ing the short time in which William Penn was capable of 
taking an active part in these concerns. 

In the year 1712, William Penn agreed with the minis- 
ters of the crow^n upon a sale of his interest in the prov- 
ince and territories, to which he had devoted so large a 
part of his laborious life. His pecuniary difficulties and 
the impossibility of giving his personal attention to their 
concerns, were probably the moving causes of this measure. 
He announced the sale to his friends as follows: 

*'For my dear Friends, S. Carpenter, Ed. Shippen, Rich, 
Hill, I. Norris, G. Pusey, S. Preston, T. Story, Gr. 
Gwen, etc., at Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania. 

''KuscoMBE, Berks, 24th of Fifth month, 1712. 
"Dear and Worthy Friends: — Having so fair an 
opportunity, and having hoard from you by the bearer, 



OF w r L L r A M P E N X . 509 

John French, I choose by him to salute you and yours, 
and all unnamfed Friends that you think worthy, for my 
heart loves such, and heartily salutes them and theirs, and 
prays for your preservation in the Lord's everlasting 
truth to the end of time ; and the way of it is, to take 
the Lord along with you in all your enterprises, to give 
you right sight, true counsel, and a just temper of modera- 
tion in all things, you knowing right well the Lord our 
God is near at hand. Now know, that though I have not 
actually sold my government to our truly good queen, yet 
her able lord treasurer and I have agreed it. 

'' I have taken effectual care that all the laws and priv- 
ileges I have granted to you shall be observed by the 
queen's governors, etc., and that we who are Friends 
shall be in a more particular manner regarded and treated 
by the queen. So that you will not, I hope and believe, 
have a less interest in the government, being humble and 
discreet in our conduct. 

" I purpose to see you, if God give me life, this fall, but 
I grow old and infirm, yet would gladly see you once 
more before I die, and my young sons and daughter also 
settled upon good tracts of land, for them and theirs after 
them, to clear and settle upon, as Jacob's sons did. I close 
when I tell you that I desire fervent prayers to the Lord 
for continuing my life, that I may see Pennsylvania once 
more before I die, and that I am your faithful, loving friend, 

William Penn." 

The sum to be paid was twelve thousand pounds, one 
thousand of which wore actually paid. But before the 
documents for making a legal transfer were completed, he 
43* 



510 PASSAGES FROM THE LIFE 

was attacked with a disease of an apoplectic character, 
which left him with a memory so far impaired that he 
was judged incompetent to their execution. 

The account which we have of William Penn from this 
time, though authentic, is very short. Two years after- 
wards, his old friend, Thomas Story, arrived in England, 
and went to Ruscomb to see him. He says, " His memory 
was almost quite lost, and the use of his understanding sus- 
pended, so that he was not so conversable as formerly, and 
yet as near the Truth, in the love of it, as before, wherein 
appeared the great mercy and favor of God, if it be consid- 
ered how little time of rest he ever had from the impor- 
tunities of the affairs of others, to the great hurt of his 
own and suspension of all his enjoyments till this hap- 
pened to him, by which he was rendered incapable of all 
business, and yet sensible of the enjoyment of Truth as 
at any time in all his life. When I perceived the great 
defect of his expressions for want of memory, it greatly 
bowed my spirit under a consideration of the uncertainty 
of all human qualifications, and what the finest of meii are 
soon reduced to by a disorder of the organs of that body 
with which the soul is connected and acts during this 
present mode of being. His mind was in an innocent 
state, as appeared by his very loving deportment to all 
that came near him, and we were greatly comforted by 
some very clear sentences he spoke in the life and power 
of Truth in an evening meeting we had together ; so 
that I was ready to think this was a sort of sequestra- 
tion of him from all the concerns of this life which so much 
oppressed him, not in judgment, but in mercy, that he 
might have rest, and not be oppressed thereby to the end." 



OF WILLIAM PENN. 511 

In reviewing his life, the disappointments that attended 
it fade out of sight, and we feel assured that the equal 
Judge of all has placet! the seal of enduring influence upon 
the institutions he established, the views of equal right 
and justice he advocated, and the declarations of eternal 
truth he recorded in conformity to his will. 

By the inward retirement of soul and withdrawal of 
mind from outward and earthly influences which he so 
often called others to know and enjoy for themselves, he 
had known his spiritual strength to be renewed, his heart 
enlarged, his mental vision quickened and extended, and 
his judgment calmed and balanced as in the Divine 
presence ; and his spirit had been raised above the influ- 
ence of human institutions, customs, maxims, and creeds, 
and from that height a sight had been given him of eter- 
nal truth and right, and of God's own gracious ways. 
And now, in the failure of mind and body, this blessed 
communion which he had been drawn into the enjoyment 
of in his very early years, which had been his stay and 
rest throughout his active and troubled life, was accorded 
to him in bountiful measure. His peace was made to flow 
as a river which finds the last of its course through quiet 
meadows. 

His wife writes to James Logan the last of the year 
1113 : " He was at Reading Meeting last First-day, as also 
two or three times before, and bore it very comfortably, 
and expressed his refreshment and satisfaction in being 
there, as he frequently does in the enjoyment of the 
Lord's goodness to him in his private retirements. He 
frequently expresses his loving concerns for that country's 
good, and sends his love in a general manner to all its 



512 THE LIFE OF WILLIAM PENN. 

well-wishers." And about a year afterwards: " When 1 
keep the thoughts of business from him he is very sweet, 
comfortable, and easy, and is cheerfully resigned to the 
Lord's will, and yet takes delight in his children, his 
friends, and domestic comforts, as formerly. It is the 
public and his family who feel the loss, and myself the 
trouble of his (I may say) translation." 

Clouds lay upon his understanding, but the sun shone 
on his eternal prospects, and the long evening sky was 
clear and full of light. The first historian of his life says : 
*' After a continued and gradual declension for about six 
years his body now drew near to its dissolution, and on 
the thirtieth day of the Fifth month, 1718, between two 
and three in the morning, in the seventy-fourth year of his 
age, his soul, prepared for a more glorious habitation, for- 
sook the decayed tabernacle, which was committed to the 
earth on the fifth of the Sixth month following at Jordans, 
in Buckinghamshire, where his former wife and several of 
his family had been interred. And as he had led in this 
life a course of patient continuance in well-doing, and 
through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ had been enabled 
to overcome the world, he is, we doubt not, admitted to 
that everlasting inheritance which God hath prepared for 
his people, and made partaker of the promise of Christ. 
' To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in 
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
with my Father in his throne.' " 

The End. 




UBBABVOFCONGBeSS 




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